The Transatlantic Notebook

In this episode, we dive into French and American asylums of the 19th century, the role of photography in mental illness, and the connection to pop culture. 

*trigger warnings*: like the rest of this podcast, this episode contains a number of references to violence against fragile populations/minorities, as we discuss the history of eugenics. This episode particularly contains references to mistreatments of mentally ill patients, as well as references to sexual trauma, so if this is something you are sensitive to, be aware of that. 

Find more on references cited in the episode at my website

In this episode, we look at cabinets of curiosities, and their history in the early modern period in Europe. From there, we jump forward in time to talk about a prominent French scientist, Cuvier, and the science he establishes, compared anatomy, to discuss how racism established itself in science in the long 19th century. 

In this first episode, I introduce the podcast, and discuss the economics of slavery as they relate to the European fashion of indiennes or calicot. Take a trip to the past with me as we jump from the Netflix hit show Bridgerton and its costumes to the economics of slavery in the early 19th century.