Purbita Das reviews Sensorium: Contextualising the Senses and Cognition in History and Across Cultures by David Howes (Cambridge UP, 2024) and explores how the text can inform her own work on cultural narratives of contagion in India.
This article is part of a collection of posts from attendees at the 2024 Medical Humanities International Summer School for PhD researchers in Vadstena, Sweden, coordinated by the Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Linköping University, in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University.
A Revolutionary Manifesto for the Senses
David Howes’s Sensorium: Contextualising the Senses and Cognition in History and Across Cultures (2024) is a landmark contribution to sensory studies, providing a richly interdisciplinary exploration of how sensory perception is culturally constructed and historically situated. The book, part of Cambridge University Press’s Histories of Emotions and the Senses series, exemplifies the series’ aim to integrate diverse disciplinary insights while advancing critical conversations around sensory and emotional experiences. In this compact yet dense volume, Howes moves beyond his foundational works, such as The Varieties of Sensory Experience (1991) and Sensual Relations: Engaging the Senses in Culture and Social Theory (2003), by offering a sophisticated synthesis of sensory anthropology, history and cognitive psychology.
Credit: Cambridge University Press.
The central premise of Sensorium is the argument that the senses are not merely physiological mechanisms but deeply cultural constructs shaped by historical, geographical and technological contexts. Howes critiques the reductionist paradigms of cognitive neuroscience and psychology, proposing instead that sensory experiences must be understood through intersensoriality, that is, the dynamic interplay between senses and their cultural embedding. By situating the sensorium within historical and cross-cultural frameworks, Howes challenges western hierarchies of the senses, particularly the primacy of vision, while advocating for a more holistic, heterarchical understanding of sensory experience.
A Departure from Reductionism and Earlier Works: Main Arguments
Howes divides the book into two parts: “Explorations” and “Études Sensorielles”. The first part, “Explorations”, examines the cultural variability of sensory systems. It dismantles the dominance of the five-sense model popularised in Aristotelian thought and perpetuated by western educational and scientific paradigms. While this thematic concern also appears in his earlier work Sensual Relations (2003), Sensorium (2024) departs from it by engaging more deeply with contemporary developments in neuroscience and cultural studies. For instance, Howes highlights how different cultures perceive and categorise senses in ways that reflect their cosmological and social structures. He contrasts the western privileging of vision with non-western traditions, such as the “sixth sense” associated with the mind in Buddhism or the interrelation of senses in traditional Chinese medicine (Howes 2024, 6-7).
Credit: A physical essay on the senses / Translated from the French. Source: Wellcome Collection.
A notable evolution in Howes’s work is his methodological shift. In earlier works, such as Sensual Relations, the emphasis was on theorising the senses within specific cultural contexts, often drawing from anthropological case studies. In Sensorium, Howes adopts a broader historical perspective, weaving together insights from sensory history, anthropology and cognitive science. For example, the chapter “Acoustemology” introduces techniques of hearing as a distinct mode of knowing, engaging with Steven Feld’s concept of “a sonic way of being” and exploring auditory spatiality in contexts as diverse as video games and urban soundscapes. This chapter builds on Howes’s earlier discussions of sound but pushes the boundaries further by examining the implications of auditory techniques for contemporary sensory practices.
Similarly, the chapters “Osmology” and “Sensology” expand Howes’s previous critiques of sensory hierarchies by integrating emerging technologies and global perspectives. In “Osmology”, Howes critiques the neglect of smell in the Global North, contrasting it with East Asian practices where olfactory perception is central to cultural rituals. His detailed exploration of how diverse cultures approach smell—from its role in traditional Chinese medicine to its marginalisation in western clinical settings—offers new insights into the affective and cognitive dimensions of olfaction. In “Sensology”, he explores how technologies like virtual reality are reshaping sensory modalities, enabling new forms of cross-modal interaction and sensory enhancement.
Chapterisation and Writing Style: Clarity in Complexity
The book’s structure is meticulously designed to guide readers through its complex arguments. Part I lays the theoretical groundwork, addressing foundational questions such as “How many senses are there?” and “What is the cultural history of the sensorium?” Part II offers two richly detailed case studies—on Margaret Lucas Cavendish and James McNeill Whistler—that exemplify the book’s central themes. Howes’s decision to focus on these historical figures reflects his commitment to contextualising sensory experiences within specific sociocultural and historical milieus.
Howes’s writing style combines academic rigour with accessibility, making complex ideas digestible without oversimplifying. His use of vivid examples—from the multisensory aesthetics of Whistler’s paintings to the olfactory rituals of Japanese incense appreciation—ensures that the text remains engaging. Unlike the encyclopaedic density of The Varieties of Sensory Experience, Sensorium strikes a balance between theoretical depth and narrative clarity, making it a valuable resource for both specialists and newcomers to sensory studies.
Innovative Contributions: Rethinking Sensory Studies and Health Humanities
One of the most compelling aspects of Sensorium is its interdisciplinary scope, particularly its implications for the medical humanities. Howes extends sensory studies into health contexts by exploring how the sensorium interacts with bodily and environmental vulnerabilities. For instance, his critique of “sterile environments” in urbanisation resonates with medical humanities’ concerns about the alienation of bodies from their sensory ecologies. Drawing on examples from environmental sociology and health geography, Howes argues that sensory alienation contributes to the erosion of well-being, particularly in marginalised communities.
The book’s engagement with multisensory aesthetics offers fertile ground for rethinking medical humanities. By highlighting how sensory experiences are modulated by art, technology, and environmental conditions, Howes invites scholars to consider the therapeutic potential of sensory interventions. For instance, his discussion of spatial hearing and echolocation underscores the adaptability of sensory practices, offering new perspectives on disability studies and sensory rehabilitation. Similarly, his emphasis on olfactory perception challenges the marginalisation of smell in clinical settings, suggesting avenues for more holistic approaches to patient care.
In advancing these arguments, Howes draws on a wide range of interdisciplinary literature. For example, his critique of the sensory hierarchy echoes Regina Bendix’s call to rebalance the senses (2005) and resonates with Charles Spence’s research on cross-modal correspondences (2021). By situating his analysis within these broader scholarly debates, Howes not only enriches the field of sensory studies but also bridges it with pressing questions in health and medical humanities.
Contemporary Relevance: Bridging Theory and Practice
Sensorium is particularly timely in its exploration of how sensory practices intersect with social and environmental challenges. Howes’s discussion of sensory alienation in urban environments, for instance, offers critical insights into contemporary health crises, from the sensory deprivation experienced during pandemic lockdowns to the impact of environmental toxins on sensory well-being. His emphasis on the cultural and historical variability of sensory experiences challenges universalist approaches to health and well-being, advocating instead for context-sensitive interventions.
Moreover, the book’s focus on the intersection of technology and the senses has significant implications for emerging fields such as digital health and virtual reality therapies. Howes’s exploration of sensory augmentation technologies, such as haptic feedback devices and immersive virtual environments, highlights their potential to enhance sensory rehabilitation and improve the quality of life for individuals with sensory impairments. These discussions position Sensorium as a vital resource for scholars and practitioners seeking to integrate sensory studies with innovative health practices.
Sensory Dimensions of Contagion: Sensorium and the Experience of Disease
Howes’s Sensorium offers a powerful lens through which we can reimagine the embodied experience of disease. In his exploration of the senses, Howes contends that sensory perceptions—sight, sound, smell, taste and touch—are far from mere biological responses. They are shaped and refracted through cultural, historical and social contexts. This aligns profoundly with my thesis which explores the representation of bodies and contagion in the Indian literary and cultural narratives of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. Howes’s work enriches my investigation by emphasising that bodies marked by contagion do not only undergo physiological changes but are also profoundly implicated in sensory experiences that carry deep cultural and social meanings in the Indian terrain.
In my study, I argue that touch, distance, and visual cues become more than physical markers of becoming contagious. I argue that these are symbols, laden with fear, desire and power. Howes’s notion of the “sensorium” offers a framework for understanding how disease is felt—not simply in its clinical manifestations but in the very way it is perceived and feared through sensory channels. The experience of disease becomes inseparable from the way people sense it, whether through the discomforting proximity of a cough or the isolating distance imposed on those deemed infected. This sensory experience is not universal. Instead, it is deeply embedded in societal hierarchies, which govern how certain bodies are rendered vulnerable or othered. Howes’s theoretical lens helps to illuminate how contagion, while biological, is profoundly social and sensory. In this way, my thesis builds on Howes’s insights, offering a view of bodies as dynamic sites where biological, social, and sensory registers of contagion intersect—rendering the infected body a battleground not only of medical systems but of cultural perceptions, power and control.
Toward a Sensorial Revolution
Sensorium is more than a scholarly text; it is a manifesto for rethinking the role of the senses in shaping human experience. By bridging sensory studies with medical humanities, Howes not only advances theoretical debates but also offers practical implications for interdisciplinary research and practice. His call to “lead with the senses” (Howes 2024, 59) is a rallying cry for scholars across disciplines to embrace the sensorium as a dynamic, culturally embedded and politically significant domain of inquiry.
In its breadth and depth, Sensorium exemplifies the best of interdisciplinary scholarship, providing a critical framework for understanding the complex interplay of senses, culture and cognition. For researchers in sensory studies, medical humanities and beyond, this book is an indispensable resource that challenges us to reimagine the boundaries of our disciplines. As Howes declares in his conclusion: “Vive la révolution sensorielle!” (Howes 2024, 60).
About the Author
Purbita Das is a Senior Research Fellow (PhD) in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Bhopal. Her doctoral thesis explores the representation of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 in Indian literary and cultural texts in the current century. Her research area includes Literary Medical Humanities, Environmental Humanities, Gender Studies and Sexuality and Care Studies. Her co-authored article has appeared in the journal photographies. She has also authored a book chapter titled “Citizens of New Normal: Rethinking Vaccination and Surveillance Agencies to Study Citizenship During COVID-19 in India” in The Future of the Humanities: Perspectives from South Asian Cultural Studies (2024).
References
Bendix, Regina. 2005. “Time of the Senses?” Current Anthropology 45(4): 688–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/432823.
Howes, David. 2024. Sensorium: Contextualizing the Senses and Cognition in History and Across Cultures. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
┈2003. Sensual Relations Engaging the Senses in Culture and Social Theory. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
┈1991. The Varieties of Sensory Experience A Sourcebook in the Anthropology of the Senses. Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Spence, Charles. 2021. Sensehacking. New York: Penguin Random House.
