The History of Madness, Mental Illness, and Psychiatry

Catalog description

More than perhaps any other set of human afflictions, the phenomena that have gone under the names of "madness," "insanity," "lunacy," and "mental illness" have historically provoked a wide variety of often contradictory reactions. Those who have been in the throes of "madness" have described experiences ranging from an ecstatic sense of holiness to being beset by undeniable impulses to feelings of unending despair. Observers have sought explanations for the behavior of "touched" and "crazy" individuals by invoking such things as sin, destiny, heredity, moral degeneracy, upbringing, trauma, fatigue, and body chemistry. Those afflicted have been admired, pitied, mocked, hidden from public view, canonized, imprisoned, restrained, operated on, sterilized, hospitalized, killed, counseled, analyzed, and medicated. Why? This course will examine the ideas that have shaped European and American perceptions of madness, insanity, and mental illness. This course will be an introduction to the modern history of "madness" in the Western world. In particular, we will examine the ideas that have shaped European and American perceptions of madness, insanity, and mental illness; the changing experiences of those afflicted; the development of those professions designed to look after those deemed mad, insane, and mentally ill; and the social and cultural assumptions behind treatments, policies, and public opinions.