Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

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1.	Metzel tells us that: “Scholars have long argued that medical and governmental institutions code threats to authority as mental illness during moments of political turmoil.” (14) The mental health of both our 45th and 46th (current) US President has been called into question by their opponents. The intense media coverage on both sides exacerbates the situation and this undermines the confidence of the American people. I find our current lack of decorum in politics very unsettling. Mental illness is serious business and should not be politicized. How do you feel?

2.	Metzel explains that the use of the term schizophrenia and Negro kept increasing in company over time. (111) He uses examples of media coverage to show how cultural usage has a powerful impact. In our everyday interactions with others we are told it is important to be mindful of what we say and write. Do you think our 2021 news media has learned anything about the negative impact of repeated cultural usage from past mistakes or is the media even WORSE in this age of instantaneous worldwide access to information that may contain all sorts of cultural biases?

Submitted by Bonnie Akkerman     I pledge…

1. For my project, I focused on John Nash and his experiences with schizophrenia. Obviously he was treated better in some institutions than African Americans were because of his high social status in academia and because he was a white man. However, he was hospitalized for schizophrenia around the same time Metzl focuses on in his book, and I'd like to discuss more of the racial juxtaposition with schizophrenia patients. What outside of the wording of the DSM and inherent racism prompted this treatment?

2. In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, mental illness was weaponized against African Americans to essentially lock up people that were stepping outside the perceived social norms. This is the same theme we have been examining over the source of the semester, just used specifically against African Americans instead of simply women of people "different" from others in society. Why do you think this same theme continuously appears, being manipulated against a specific group throughout history?

Submitted by Lyndsey Clark. I pledge…

1. In the preface of the text it is mentioned that during the 1920’s to the 1950’s schizophrenia was viewed as something harmless within whites which due to the racial bias at the time is expected. But the almost romantic view of schizophrenia as something that the artistic and poetic individuals have is something very confusing to me. Why is something like mental illness especially schizophrenia being romanticized in this way?

2. In chapter 2 when discussing Ionia and its mental institution alongside other building on the grounds that house, more violent patients senile was listed as a separate building. Did this mean that this facility was used as a “retirement home” or elderly care facility in that context?

-Parker Siebenschuh I pledge....

1. Trained alienists were told to ask mental status questions like the ones asked to Alice to newly arriving immigrants in order to determine their mental health. What does this say about the role of mental health to America?

2. Metzl states that Ionia was a mirage that made people believe that the institution was a calm place. Why do you think this was the case even though it was not true? What does it say about the communities involvement with mental health?

-Submitted by Jack Kurz. I pledge…

1. If many convicts developed mental health issues after incarceration, why did that not raise suspicion?

2. It is interesting that some relatives complained about the treatment their family members and loved ones received especially since before many of them were happy to get them out of their hair. What do you think changed their minds about the treatments at institutions?

3. Why do you think there was such back and forth with the meaning, diagnosis, and symptoms of schizophrenia? Do you think the current meaning will be the same a hundred years from now?

Submitted by Audrey Schroeder. I pledge...

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