Anatomical Acts: Exploring the Intersections between Popular Anatomy and Popular Theatre in Nineteenth-Century America

 

Levenson will contextualize her research as the intersection of three historical threads: the increasing importance of anatomical science to medical education, which contributed to widespread theft of bodies from public (and primarily African American) graves; the rise of a “popular anatomy,” whereby moral reformers sought to uplift the white middle-class through anatomical education; and the popularity of minstrelsy, a theatrical form that created a mockery of Black anatomy while, in some burlesques, simultaneously using the site of the dissection room as a punchline.