Reader's Digest: The Gastrointestinal in Popular Fiction, 1870s-1930s Ghent University
While the term ‘microbiome’ was not coined until 1952, the discovery of gut microflora can be traced back to the nineteenth century. By the Fin de Siècle, medical professionals were aware of bacteria’s benefits for bodily health, and the influence of digestive disorders on mental health; this became widespread public knowledge in the first decades of the 1900s. This project examines the material and metaphorical role of the digestive system ...