Dr Ally Louks's viral PhD thesis (130M views) on the politics of smell redefined the way people talk about smell.
Everyone wants to read her thesis, but it's unavailable until 2028
Here are 10 books on the politics of smell that you can read right now:
1. The Smell of Slavery
1. The Smell of Slavery by Andrew Kettler
Shows how white slave owners defined Black, African bodies as noxious and deserving of enslavement.
Smell was used to dehumanize Black folks who were equated with animals by white slave owners.
2. The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin
Considered a foundational text in smell studies.
Shows how the bourgeois nose associated bad smells with the poor and how deodorization became a tool for state control in 18th and 19th century France.