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Insects are the form of life most alien to us. Across millennia, insects have been providers and sources of food as well as feared vectors of infection. Particular insect types have come to be associated with beauty, diligence, and social and divine order, whilst others have become symbols of invasion, disease, and social decay. Today, insects are used to create luxury goods, to pollinate crops, to colour political rhetoric, and to contribute to modern-day logistics, genetics, and forensics. A Cultural History of Insects reveals how our relationship with insects – in life and in death – is one of our most productive and intimate.
The work is divided into 6 volumes, with each volume covering the same topics, so readers can either study a period/volume or follow a topic across history. The 6 volumes cover: Antiquity (c.1000 BCE-500 CE); the Medieval Age (500-1300); the Renaissance (1300-1600); the Age of Enlightenment (1600-1820); the Age of Industry (1820-1920); the Modern Age (1920-present). Themes (and chapter titles) are: insect knowledge; insects and disease; insects and food; insect products; insects in mythology and religion; insects as symbols; insects in literature and language; and insects in art. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index.
Please note that this set weighs ~3.9 kg.
Volume 1: A Cultural History of Insects in Antiquity / Edited by Gene Kritsky, Mount St. Joseph University, USA
Introduction, Gene Kritsky
1. Insect Knowledge, Ian Beavis
2. Insects and Disease: Three Insects that Affected the People of Ancient Egypt, Joyce M. Filer
3. Insects and Food: Evidence from the Archaeological Record, Eva Panagiotakopulu
4. Insect Products, Gene Kritsky
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion, Ron Cherry
6. Insects as Symbols, James N. Hogue
7. Insects in Literature and Language, Rory Egan
8. Insects in Art, Gene Kritsky
Volume 2: A Cultural History of Insects in the Medieval Age / Edited by Gene Kritsky, Mount St. Joseph University, USA
Introduction, V. Nazari
1. Insect Knowledge, May Berenbaum
2. Insects and Disease, Eileen Reilly
3. Insects and Food, Giovanni Sogari and Silvana Chiesa
4. Insect Products, Gene Kritsky
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion, Victor J. Monserrat and V. Nazari
6. Insects as Symbols, Victor J. Monserrat
7. Insects in Literature and Language, Rachel Murray
8. Insects in Art, Julio Ferrer
Volume 3: A Cultural History of Insects in the Renaissance / Edited by Sherilyn G.F. Smith, Le Moyne College, USA
Introduction, Sherilyn G.F. Smith
1. Insect Knowledge, Peter Mancall
2. Insects and Disease: Unsuspected Agents of Death, Michelle Ziegler and Sherilyn G.F. Smith
3. Insects and Food Michael, Blust, E.M. Aldosoro Maya and Evangelina Blust
4. Insect Products, Sherilyn G.F. Smith and Gene Kritsky
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion, Darryl Caterine
6. Insects as Symbols: Symbolism in the Christian Renaissance, Lucinda Cole
7. Insects in Literature and Language: From Chaucer to Shakespeare, Ann Martinez
8. Insects in Art: Art as Culture, Art as Science, Cynthia M. Pyle
Volume 4: A Cultural History of Insects in the Age of Enlightenment / Edited by Matthew S. Lehnert, Kent State University, USA
Introduction, Matthew S. Lehnert
1. Insect Knowledge, Kristen E. Reiter and Robert Hamilton
2. Insects and Disease, Will K. Reeves
3. Insects and Food, Frank N. Egerton
4. Insect Products, Gene Kritsky
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion, Daytona D. Johnson and Ellen M. Camerato
6. Insects as Symbols, James N. Hogue
7. Insects in Literature and Language, Ann Martinez
8. Insects in Art, Jennifer Angus, Kristen E. Reiter and Matthew S. Lehnert
Volume 5: A Cultural History of Insects in the Age of Industry / Edited by Carol M. Anelli and Susan W. Fisher, The Ohio State University, USA
Introduction, Carol M. Anelli and Susan W. Fisher
1. Insect Knowledge: The Discovery and Description of Insect Diversity, Norman F. Johnson and Andrew Polaszek
2. Insects and Disease: A Formidable War Alliance, Melissa K. Miller and Gary L. Miller
3. Insects and Food: A Global View of Edible Insects, Florence Vaccarello Dunkel
4. Insect Products: Apiculture, Sericulture, and Other Insect-Derived Commodities, Walter S. Sheppard and Carol M. Anelli
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion: Natural Theology, Megan E. Meuti and Susan W. Fisher
6. Insects as Symbols: Making Meaning with Insects in the Nineteenth Century, Adam Dodd
7. Insects in Literature and Language: “Crawling at your feet, you may observe a Bread-and-Butterfly”, Rosalind White
8. Insects in Art: The Age of Industry, Deirdre Prischmann-Voldseth
Volume 6: A Cultural History of Insects in the Modern Age / Edited by Robert K. D. Peterson, Montana State University, USA
Introduction, Robert K. D. Peterson
1. Insect Knowledge, Rayda Krell
2. Insects and Disease, Jeffrey Lockwood
3. Insects and Food, David Kinkela
4. Insect Products, Amelia Dolan
5. Insects in Mythology and Religion, Gary Noel Ross
6. Insects as Symbols, Robert K.D. Peterson
7. Insects in Literature and Language, Karl Zuelke
8. Insects in Art, Barrett Klein and Tierney Brosius
Gene Kritsky is Dean of the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences and Professor of Biology at Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, USA. He is former Editor-in-Chief of American Entomologist. His ten books include The Tears of Re: Beekeeping in Ancient Egypt (2015) and The Quest for the Perfect Hive: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture (2010).
