Coming to Our Senses: The Important Relationship Between Sensory History and Environmental History

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Sensory history is a burgeoning field which investigates how humans in the past navigated and knew the world around them through the senses. It illuminates how people’s experiences were rooted not only in what they saw but also in what they felt, tasted, smelled, and heard. Sensory historians are a diverse cast with a shared habit of applying sensorially-engaged methods and questions to various fields. Yet sensory history is still often overlooked as an important part of the interdisciplinary emphasis environmental historians rely on. Donald Worster, a leading voice of the field, argues that one of the foundational levels of environmental history is “the patterns of human perception, ideology, and value,” and sensory history is a vital component to this undertaking.


Each participant in this roundtable utilizes the historical senses as part of their methodology to convey a deeper understanding of the past. Alyssa Peterson examines how natural disasters leave strong sensory impressions on those whom they affect. Chloe Thompson researches the development of twentieth-century food additives, many of which were designed to alter the taste and appearance of food products. Steve Petersen analyzes how the sights, sounds, tastes, and textures of Britain’s industrialized North shaped how Mormon handcart pioneers transitioned to the American West. Finally, leading the discussion is Evan Kutzler, whose monograph, Living by Inches, has been an important contribution to the field of sensory history as it examines how imprisoned men in the Civil War perceived captivity through the basic building blocks of human experience—their five senses. Central to the panel’s objective will be a discussion on how each of the participant’s respective research has benefited from the important links between sensory and environmental history.

Sub Unit

• ASEH Annual Conference

Moderator

• David Spatz, ASEH

Presenters

• Steve Petersen, Montana State University

• Chloe Thompson, Carnegie Mellon University

• Alyssa Peterson, University of Texas as Austin