Disability, the Body, and Radical Intellectuals in the Literature of the Civil War and Reconstruction...

— —

Sarah E. Chinn (Hunter College, City University of New York)

Disability, the Body, and Radical Intellectuals in the Literature of the Civil War and Reconstruction

Sarah E. Chinn (Hunter College, City University of New York)

$84.95 $72.17

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Cambridge University Press
23 October 2025

Literary theory; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; Social & cultural history; Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions; Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies

Series: Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture

During the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of men were injured, and underwent amputation of hands, feet, limbs, fingers, and toes. As the war drew to a close, their disabled bodies came to represent the future of a nation that had been torn apart, and how it would be put back together again. In her authoritative and engagingly written new book, Sarah Chinn claims that amputation spoke both corporeally and metaphorically to radical white writers, ministers, and politicians about the need to attend to the losses of the Civil War by undertaking a real and actual Reconstruction that would make African Americans not just legal citizens but actual citizens of the United States. She traces this history, reviving little-known figures in the struggle for Black equality, and in so doing connecting the racial politics of 150 years ago with contemporary debates about justice and equity.

By: Sarah E. Chinn (Hunter College City University of New York)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Weight: 436g
ISBN: 9781009442701
ISBN 10: 1009442708
Series: Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture
Pages: 270
Publication Date: 23 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction: a new kind of nation: Amputation, reconstruction, and the promise of black citizenship; 1. Giving up the ghost: the dead child vs. the amputated limb; 2. 'Strewn promiscuously about': limbs and what happens to them; 3. 1860 or 1865? Amending the national body; 4. 'I don't care a rag for the Union as it was': amputation, the past, and the work of the Freedmen's Bureau; 5. Shaking hands: manual politics and the end of reconstruction; Conclusion: Eloquent Emptiness.

Sarah E. Chinn is Professor of English at Hunter College, CUNY. She is the author of three other books: Technology and the Logic of American Racism: A Cultural History of the Body as Evidence (2000), The Invention of Modern Adolescence: The Children of Immigrants in Turn-of-the-Century America (2007), and Spectacular Men: Race, Gender, and Nation on the Early American Stage (2017), which won the 2017 George Freedley Memorial Award for an exemplary work in the field of live theatre or performance from the American Theatre Library Association.

Reviews for Disability, the Body, and Radical Intellectuals in the Literature of the Civil War and Reconstruction

'Juxtaposing detailed accounts of literary representations with “true stories” from soldiers who lost limbs, this compelling book presents valuable critical and historical perspectives on how amputation served as a visible reminder of loss during and after the Civil War.' Shirley Samuels, Cornell University 'From beginning to end, the book is written with brio and authority. It has powerful new things to say about the visual and literary culture of Reconstruction… Chinn writes an engaging and beautiful prose informed by her wide reading in the scholarship of Reconstruction. She knows the history and the literature of the period. She also knows a good deal about photography and other forms of visual representation. The book is quite moving, especially given its focus on scarred and marred bodies.' Robert S. Levine, University of Maryland 'Thought-provokingly written and well researched, this book offers more insights to consider to the growing historiography of Civil War disability.' Tim Talbott, Emerging Civil War blog