{"product_id":"republic-of-taste-art-politics-and-everyday-life-in-early-america-9780812224894","title":"Republic of Taste: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003eEuropean and British thinkers have long been interested in questions of taste, believing that it is grounded in reading, writing, and looking and that shared aesthetic sensibilities connect like-minded individuals. Catherine E. Kelly's book explores how American thinkers acknowledged the similarities between aesthetics and politics to wrestle with questions about power and authority. Judgments about art, architecture, literature, poetry, and the theater became an arena for considering political issues, and ordinary women and men reassured themselves that taste revealed larger truths about an individual's character and potential for republican citizenship. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e: 312 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication date\u003c\/strong\u003e: 04 June 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: University of Pennsylvania Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSince the early decades of the eighteenth century, European and, particularly, British thinkers have been preoccupied with questions of taste. Whether Americans believed that taste was innate—and therefore a marker of breeding and station—or acquired—and thus the product of application and study—all could appreciate that taste was grounded in, demonstrated through, and confirmed by reading, writing, and looking. It was widely believed that shared aesthetic sensibilities connected like-minded individuals and that shared affinities advanced the public good and held great promise for the American republic. Exploring the intersection of the early republic's material, visual, literary, and political cultures, Catherine E. Kelly demonstrates how American thinkers acknowledged the similarities between aesthetics and politics in order to wrestle with questions about power and authority. Judgments about art, architecture, literature, poetry, and the theater became an arena for considering political issues ranging from government structures and legislative representation to qualifications for citizenship and the meaning of liberty itself. Additionally, if taste prompted political debate, it also encouraged affinity grounded in a shared national identity. In the years following independence, ordinary women and men reassured themselves that taste revealed larger truths about an individual's character and potential for republican citizenship. Did an early national vocabulary of taste, then, with its privileged visuality, register beyond the debates over the ratification of the Constitution? Did it truly extend beyond political and politicized discourse to inform the imaginative structures and material forms of everyday life? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRepublic of Taste affirms that it did, although not in ways that anyone could have predicted. The book argues that the early republic's material, visual, literary, and political cultures were deeply intertwined, and that a shared vocabulary of taste emerged as a means of navigating these complex relationships. This vocabulary was characterized by a privileging of visuality, and it was used to shape not only political discourse but also the imaginative structures and material forms of everyday life. Kelly demonstrates how this vocabulary was used to promote a sense of national identity and unity, as well as to reinforce social hierarch. She also shows how it was used to challenge and subvert dominant ideologies and power structures, particularly those associated with gender, race, and class. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the key themes of Republic of Taste is the role of ordinary women and men in shaping the early republic's vocabulary of taste. Kelly argues that these individuals were not passive recipients of cultural norms but active agents who used their taste to express their identities and aspirations. Ordinary women and men used their taste to create spaces that were both comfortable and visually appealing, and they used their taste to shape the way that they interacted with others. They also used their taste to challenge dominant ideologies and power structures, particularly those associated with gender, race, and class. For example, ordinary women and men used their taste to create spaces that were both comfortable and visually appealing, and they used their taste to shape the way that they interacted with others. They also used their taste to challenge dominant ideologies and power structures, particularly those associated with gender, race, and class. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnother key theme of Republic of Taste is the relationship between aesthetics and politics. Kelly argues that the early republic's vocabulary of taste was not simply a matter of personal preference but was also deeply embedded in political and social structures. She demonstrates how this vocabulary was used to promote a sense of national identity and unity, as well as to reinforce social hierarchies and power relationships. For example, the privileging of visuality in the early republic's vocabulary of taste was used to promote a sense of national identity and unity, as well as to reinforce social hierarchies and power relationships. The visuality of art, architecture, literature, and the theater was used to create a sense of hierarchy and order, and it was used to promote a sense of national identity and unity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn conclusion, Republic of Taste is a groundbreaking work that offers a new perspective on the early republic's vocabulary of taste. The book demonstrates how the early republic's material, visual, literary, and political cultures were deeply intertwined, and how a shared vocabulary of taste emerged as a means of navigating these complex relationships. Kelly's work offers a rich and nuanced understanding of the role that ordinary women and men played in shaping the early republic's vocabulary of taste, and it offers a valuable insight into the relationship between aesthetics and politics. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the early republic, American history, or the history of taste.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 254 x 178 (mm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9780812224894\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catherine E. Kelly","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":44095634997498,"sku":"9780812224894","price":20.81,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/products\/1646155767544_book.jpg?v=1646913048","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/republic-of-taste-art-politics-and-everyday-life-in-early-america-9780812224894","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}