| |
| author |
Juliet LaVigne
| | title |
Fashion and Disease: An analysis of the effects of tuberculosis in a social context on the physical remains of a 19th century cemetery in Philadelphia
| | abstract |
This thesis analyzes the romanticization of tuberculosis in 19th century literature and art. American
and European literature are compared to see the prevalence of the romantic ideal of tuberculosis.
This framework is then used to contextualize the data collected from the osteological methodology.
For this project, ten individuals from an archaeological site at a cemetery in Philadelphia were
analyzed to see if there was any evidence of long-term corset usage. The cemetery was active from
the 1700s until 1860, when it was closed and relocated, which is when the romanticization of
tuberculosis appears in literature and art. This romanticization changed the ideal form of beauty at
the time to one that looked like a tubercular person, known today as consumptive chic. By
analyzing the data collected from the ribs of the archaeological remains and comparing them to a
modern medical set, it can reveal if there is any statistically significant difference between the ribs
of the archaeological individuals and the modern individual. This was determined by using
PERMANOVA tests in RStudio. These results were then contextualized using the analysis
presented in the literature review. Historical and cultural context is also given to better understand
the results and possible directions that should be taken for future research.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2023)
|
| advisor |
Dr. Lisa Monetti
|
| full text | JLaVigne.pdf |
| |
