PhD student in history
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Thesis project title
Sick or deviant? Treatments and representations of the insane in Paris and London (1750-1850)
Résumé
If, in 2019, one in eight people present mental disorders, the affected population still feels the consequences of the conceptions associated with them. These are influenced by his past care. Indeed, madness is oriented by the culture and history of a society. The transition between the 18th and 19th centuries is a key moment in the history of madness, as psychiatry slowly takes shape in this period of upheaval, while taking into account the gender of the patients. The neglected Parisian institutions of Salpêtrière and Bicêtre are central to our study, in addition to London’s Bethlehem Hospital. Healthcare professionals in these countries communicate with each other, sharing medical ideas and preconceptions about their patients. So, how could cultural transformations influence the treatment of madness between 1750 and 1850 in Paris and London? Despite medical exchanges, insane people are treated and represented differently in Paris and London, while asylum managers are influenced by their culture. Patients will thus become medical objects more quickly in Paris than in London where scandals persist. Beyond national borders, the dialogue between these professionals favors the strengthening of gendered norms in society in the 19th century through the medical sphere, while themselves being influenced by those circulating in Paris and London. Culture is thus omnipresent in this project, because it develops in opposition to madness which is a sociocultural construction.
Our thesis project is based on three types of sources. First, institutional documents such as admission registers and medical observations make it possible to understand the stay of the insane in their confinement institution and the treatments taken to cure them. Next, we use articles from Parisian and London newspapers to examine representations of insane people in the media. To do this, we study the vocabulary used to describe patients, their care and their living conditions. Finally, we mobilize the medical treatises used by health professionals to treat their patients and which denote conceptions associated with the latter. At the same time, we will be able to understand the treatments mentioned in journals and medical observations. Thanks to this study, we will propose another narrative of madness to participate in the destruction of stereotypes still strongly associated with mental disorders today.
Thesis direction
Sophie Abdela and Natalia Muchnik, EHESS
Keywords related to the thesis project
Madness, Asylums, 18th century, 19th century, Genre, Space
2024-02-26 07:08:17
#Alexandra #Vouligny #Department #History
