Amy Werbel on Anthony Comstock and Obscenity Law

In this episode, Amy Werbel, Associate Professor of Art History at the Fashion Institute of Technology, discusses her recent book "Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity in the Age of Anthony Comstock," which is published by Columbia University Press. Werbel begins by explaining who Anthony Comstock was and why he played such an important role in creating and enforcing obscenity law in the Gilded Age United States. She describes how social and technological change prompted demands for more and stronger obscenity laws, which Comstock came to exemplify. And she discusses how his rigid enforcement of his highly personal and idiosyncratic standards for obscenity soon brought him out of step with both his patrons and a changing society. Werbel is on Twitter at @awerbel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.