SENSATION! Reported Bodies in 19th-Century American Media

“SENSATION! Reported Bodies in 19th-Century American Media” is an exhibit about your body: your eyes, ears, nostrils, skin, and tongue. It’s also about that strange, seductive sixth sense, your imagination. How does the news touch your imagination to make your body feel? Today, “sensational” writing is an exaggerated, titillating representation of sex or crime. In the 1800s, though, “sensational” simply meant creating a strong impact on the senses. When we recover this historical definition, many newspapers begin to seem sensational.

“SENSATION!” builds on a Comparative Literature Department senior essay, and features documents from several of Yale Library’s special collections, including Cushing/Whitney Medical Historical Library, Robert F. Haas Family Arts Library, and Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. (Please note that this exhibition includes historical images of and references to sexual assault, lynching, and other acts of violence.)