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a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s I have worked on this project for almost a decade. It thus bears an unflinching trace of my development as a scholar and of time spent in Ann Arbor, in New York, and in Washington, D.C. At the risk of sounding maudlin, the debt of gratitude I have amassed in each of these places far exceeds what I can acknowledge here. There are many who I simply cannot thank enough, but I will try. Anne Herrmann, Carol Karlsen, Peggy McCracken, Susan Scott Parrish and the amazing Valerie Traub believed in this project before I did. I am grateful for their patience in its early stages and their incisiveness in its final stages as a dissertation , especially Valerie, whose mentorship far exceeded anything I could have hoped for from a dissertation chair. Her tenacity, political conviction, and scholarly investment in both her work and mine have influenced how I define success in this field. To say that Ann Arbor winters are bleak is an understatement; that I am sometimes nostalgic for them speaks to the warmth of camaraderie I found in my peers, both in Women’s Studies and in English. Four friends in particular made my time there (and so many other places) so much fun: many, many thanks to Ezequiel Berdichevsky, Erika Gasser, Nicholas Syrett, and Kelly Williams. I doubt I would have made it through graduate school without them. Ezequiel Berdichevsky, and his lovely wife Aarti, introduced me to Paul, and for that, I am forever grateful. Erika Gasser is the funniest person I know, and perhaps also the kindest. Nicholas Syrett generously shared his rent-controlled Manhattan apartment with me, along with his snarky good sense. And Kelly Williams, from the first moment of graduate school, has been the very best of friends. She has read every line of this book more than twice without ever tiring of it. Her influence is on every page, though the mistakes are all mine. I am especially grateful to my amazing colleagues at the George Washington University and in Washington, D.C., who inspire me with their dazzling range x Acknowledgments of expertise, especially Masha Belenky, Leah Chang, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, William Cohen, Patrick Cook, Maria Frawley, Thomas Guglielmo, Jennifer James, Jonathan Hsy, Constance Kibler, Antonio Lòpez, Rachel McLaughlin, Madhavi Menon, Robert McRuer, Marcy Norton, Samantha Pinto, Linda Salamon, Linda Terry, Sergio Waisman, Gayle Wald, Tara Wallace, Sarah Werner, Lynn Westwater , and the amazing Jonathan Gil Harris. I have learned so much from them. Two groups, in particular, have shaped my thinking about the history of the body: GWU’s Medieval and Early Modern Institute and the DC Queer Theory reading group. Both believe heartily that rigorous, academic debate goes best with booze and food. They are my kind of scholars. My friends Alan Francisco-Tipgos, Joseph Tully, Robert Nakatani, Rose Saxe, Mary Courtney McKee, and Mahmoud Hacheni deserve special thanks since they, among so many other things, provided me with much needed breaks. Time spent with them in Brooklyn, New York; Mattituck, Long Island; Paris, France; and Barnegat Light, New Jersey (yes, the Jersey shore!) allowed me to relax and enjoy those summers when so much writing occurred. Likewise, my amazing ‘band of brothers’ in medieval and early modern studies, usually seen in short bursts at conferences, equally inspired me to keep writing, shaping how I approach this topic through discussions over beer, coffee, and many, many SAA seminar tables. Thanks especially to Sabiha Ahmed, Laura Williamson Ambrose, Amanda Bailey, Gina Bloom, Carol Brobeck, Joseph Campana, MarleneLynetteEberhart ,JennieEvenson,LaraFarina,WillFisher,RozeHentschell, Derrick Higginbotham, Emily Isaacson, Miriam Jacobson, Melissa Jones, Joseph Lowenstein, Scott Maisano, Lucy Munro, Barbara Sebek, Adam Smyth, and Andrew Tumminia. My students at the George Washington University thought through these ideas with me, offering their own dazzling insights, especially Elizabeth Blake, Ashley Denham Busse, Tessa Kostelc, Nedda Mehdizadeh, and Jennifer Wood along with the members of my freshmen dean’s seminar on the boundaries of the body and my graduate seminar on the intimate senses of taste, touch, and smell. Most of all, I’m grateful for my family. Paul LaMade is the very best husband, father, and friend; without his support, I would not have finished this book. Our son, Brian, was born just as I was finishing this manuscript. Watching him discover his sensory world is among the greatest joys I...

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