Madness and Psychiatry (HIST*3640)

Code and section: HIST*3640*01

Term: Winter 2023

Instructor: Linda Mahood

Details

Course Synopsis:

This course examines the history of psychiatry and representations of madness in popular culture from the “birth of the asylum” in the 18th century to the present. We will examine the reasons why psychiatry and its history have been sources of criticism, controversy and change through an examination of both primary and secondary sources. We will examine the social and cultural contexts through which psychiatry has risen as a lucrative medical specialty and experience of willing and unwilling patients. Through lectures and discussion on topics including the history of asylums, the rise and fall of hysteria, psychosurgery and the development of psychoanalysis, we will explore ways in which psychiatry is related to sexuality, gender, religion, war, pharmacy, literature and cinema. Topics will include the history of psychiatric institutions, the history of psychiatric treatments (both somatic and psychodynamic), the history of mental health movements, diagnosis and classification, human rights and activism, and the intersections of psychiatry with gender, sexuality, race, class, love and war.

**Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.**