Silence: A Social History of One of the Least Understood Elements of Our Lives

ISBN: 0544702484

Author: Brox, Jane

Condition: New

From the author of the dazzling epic* Brilliant, a compelling history of silence as a powerful shaper of the human mind-in prisons, in places of contemplation, and in our own livesThrough her evocative intertwined histories of the penitentiary and the monastery, Jane Brox illuminates the many ways silence is far more complex than any absolute; how it has influenced ideas of the self, soul, and society. Brox traces its place as a transformative power in the monastic world from Medieval Europe to the very public life of twentieth century monk Thomas Merton, whose love for silence deepened even as he faced his obligation to speak out against war. This fascinating history of ideas also explores the influence the monastic cell had on one of societys darkest experiments in silence: Eastern State Penitentiary. Conceived of by one of the Founding Fathers and built on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the penitentiarys early promulgators imagined redemption in imposed isolation, but they badly misapprehended silences dangers.Finally, Broxs rich exploration of silences complex and competing meanings leads us to imagine how we might navigate our own relationship with silence today, for the transformation it has always promised, in our own lives.*Time