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Why is this class so early in the morning? -- Jeff M.

PDF Pg. 4 of Sandowsky Preface: Sandowsky questions whether what was known as "melancholia" in the 19th and 20th centuries is the same as "modern depression". I would also like to build off Sandowsky's question and ask those who believe the two to be different why and how they feel the two terms should be differentiated. For those who see the two terms as congruent please also explain your motives. - Joey Welch

1) Something that was interesting that Nancy Tomes mentioned briefly was that during Kikbride’s time, the only people who had true autonomy were “free white men of sound mind.” When the first mental hospitals were created slavery was still practiced and women did not yet have the right to vote. These people already lacked autonomy and lost more of it when admitted to mental hospitals, while white men were introduced to the world of being a second class citizen upon admittance. She also mentions how the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane took only white patients. This brings to question, how were POCs treated for mental health issues as compared to how white men were treated? - Teresa Felipe

2) It was stated in the article from the National Library of Medicine that “mental health as understood in Western countries [is not] necessarily at variance with the sense in which it is understood in other countries.” This is similar to something Jonathan Sadowsky mentioned in The Empire of Depression how this “empire” originated in western countries and then it began to spread globally. This makes me wonder how exactly mental health became a western idea and priority in the early nineteen hundreds? What about western culture caused this interest and concern in mental health as opposed to the lack of concern in other parts of the world? - Teresa Felipe

1. Each of the articles discussing the history of mental health chose a point in time to begin their discussion. For example, Bertolote's history began with the mental hygiene movement in the early twentieth century while the Wikipedia page for the lunatic asylum began in the medieval era, considerably earlier than any of the others. Why do these articles differ so much in the period of time that they consider to be part of the history of mental health? Sadowsky addressed in "Empire of Depression" the struggle of identifying a new concept in the past; might this be part of the reason there is not one accepted beginning of the history of mental health? - Morgan Kelley

2. The "talk" section of lunatic asylum Wikipedia page shows multiyear debate over whether or not the page should be combined with the page discussing modern psychiatric hospitals, making it clear that many feel strongly that there should be a distinction between those two institutions. Why might this be? How might the criticism of contemporary mental health structures found in the other articles impact this debate? - Morgan Kelley

1. Grob’s prologue mentions that from 1875-1955, 205 mental hospitals were built with a population of over a half a million people spread throughout them. Therefore, many institutions served as microcosms of the areas they served. Within these environments, how much variance was there in the treatment ideas pushed by Dix, Kirkbride and others? -RJD

2. Kirkbride and his colleagues used four categories of mental disease. Mania, which was excitement and delusions. Melancholia, marked by lethargy and depression. Dementia, or mental stupor and brain damage. Finally, monomania which was marked by partial insanity and delusional thinking. This narrow treatment is particularly interesting, as it forced multiple conditions to be lumped into four distinct categories, rather than separate fields.  -RJD


1. Similar to others questions, in Tomes introduction he goes into quite a bit of detail on Kirkbride and the different sorts of practices that he employed to his patients. It is brought up quite a bit that these medical professionals attempted to portray the mental illness as curable, yet it was a widely held thought that mental illness was incurable during this time. How did this paradox occur and why were the doctors at the mental institutions push so hard to portray mental illness as curable?-Margie Jones