The Politics of Madness
The State, Insanity and Society in England, 1845-1914
Published on 15. March 2006
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-415-30174-9 (ISBN)
Description
The discovery and treatment of insanity remains one of the most debated and discussed issues in social history.
Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.
Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.
Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.
Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.
Reviews / Votes
'The book is rich in findings founded on a strong evidential base and will be of interest not only to historians of medicine and social policy, but also those of gender, society and politics, as well as to historical geographers and sociologists ... An admirable book that should be a model for further contextualized studies of asylums in particular and regional medical cultures more generally that are needed in Britain and Ireland.' - The Economic History Review 'The book is rich in findings founded on a strong evidential base and will be of interest not only to historians of medicine and social policy, but also those of gender, society and politics, as well as to historical geographers and sociologists ... An admirable book that should be a model for further contextualized studies of asylums in particular and regional medical cultures more generally that are needed in Britain and Ireland.' - The Economic History Review'There is no doubt that The Politics of Madness is a major contribution that illuminates both the history of psychiatry and social policy.' - Journal of the History of Medicine
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Postgraduate and Professional
Illustrations
48 s/w Tabellen, 5 s/w Zeichnungen
48 Tables, black and white; 5 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
612 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-30174-9 (9780415301749)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Joseph Melling | Bill Forsythe
The Politics of Madness
The State, Insanity and Society in England, 1845-1914
Book
02/2014
1st Edition
Routledge
€64.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Joseph Melling | Bill Forsythe
The Politics of Madness
The State, Insanity and Society in England, 1845-1914
E-Book
04/2006
Routledge
€64.49
Available for download
Joseph Melling | Bill Forsythe
The Politics of Madness
The State, Insanity and Society in England, 1845-1914
E-Book
04/2006
Routledge
€64.49
Available for download
Persons
Joseph Melling (University of Exeter, UK) (Author) , Bill Forsythe (University of Exeter, UK) (Author)
Content
1 Introduction: The English Asylum and its Historians 2 The Origins of the Asylum 3 The Asylum and the British State in the administration of pauper lunacy, 1845-1914 4 The Ethos of Treatment, Care and Management at the Asylum, 1845-1914 5 Journey to the Asylum: Residence, distance and migration in admissions to the Asylum, 1845-1914 6 Community, Friends and Family: Asylum, Lunatics and the social environment, 1845-1914 7 Reading the Rules of Domesticity: Gender, insanity and the asylum, 1845-1914 8 Madness and the Market: Occupations, class and the asylum, 1845-1914 9 The Patient Experience of the Pauper and Private Asylum 10 From Asylum Inmate to Outpatient: The remaking of the institutional landscape in the Twentieth Century, 1914-1990