Walls of Words

Nicole Lobdell

100 West Seminary Street Greencastle, IN, 46135 United States

Nicole Lobdell is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English in 19th-century British literature at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.

 

 

X-RAY

Object Lesson Series, Bloomsbury

Illustration of chest X-ray with one broken rib on left side.

X-ray: invisible beam, haunting picture, penetrating gaze, and superhuman power.

X-rays are powerful, moving through objects undetected, revealing the body as a tryptic of skin, tissue, and bone. X-rays gave rise to a transparent world and the belief that transparency conveys truth. It stands to reason then that our relationship with X-rays would be paradoxical: fear and fascination, acceptance and resistance, confusion and curiosity. X-ray reveals the complexity of living in an age that relies on X-rays to expose the hidden threats to our health and national security, but also fears X-rays for the exposure they bring. In five chapters—Discovery, Mania, Vision, Exposure, and Foreign Bodies—I undertake an interdisciplinary exploration of when, where, and how we use X-rays, what meanings we give them, and what metaphors we make out of them. In doing so, I draw from a variety of fields including the art, literature, the history of medicine, science and technology studies, material culture, film, comics, gender studies, architecture, and industrial design.

Now available from Bloomsbury’s Object Lesson Series in July 2024! Click here to order.

X-ray was featured on an episode of Thinking Allowed, which aired on BBC 4 on September 17, 2024, hosted by Laurie Taylor. Listen to the episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00230wm

Blurbs & Reviews

“Nicole Lobdell’s X-Ray delightfully turns the table on Dr. Roentgen’s magical rays, revealing all. Fittingly, we are shown a hidden truth that was in front of us the entire time: the X-ray is not simply a marvel of science, medicine, and technology—it has shaped our art, language, politics, and culture. Through flowing prose and extensive research, X-Ray exposes the invisible rays’ larger impact on man (and Superman), inviting us to confront a thing that is mysterious and objective, a source of healing and harm, and a giver of insights into bodies foreign and familiar. Lobdell’s narrative delivers a brand new perspective—with none of the radiation.” - Benjamin Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Medicine (in Surgery), Columbia University, USA, and cartoonist, The New Yorker

“In her wise, whimsical, and at times worried consideration of X-rays, English professor Nicole Lobdell weaves science, history, medicine, culture, and metaphor together to provide a clearer picture of the might and meanings of X-rays. . . . a small book that punches above its size and weight . . . . Lobdell pens a clear, big picture of a surprisingly many-sided subject. The result is a glowing and penetrating examination of the importance, meaning, and influence of X-rays on not just health but all facets of life. “ - Reviewed by Tony Miksanek on MedHum.org (Full review: https://medhum.org/content/review/tony_miksanek/x-ray-by-nicole-lobdell/)