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CS92PROD
Introduction to Madness Studies

PSYC 349
Fall 2019 not offered
Course Cluster: Disability Studies

What does it mean to be "mad"? Are all mad people mentally ill? In recent years, just as clinical psychologists and psychiatrists have honed their technico-scientific infrastructures for studying and classifying psychopathology, a nascent academic discipline called "madness studies" has emerged. Madness studies aims to interrogate and diversify discourse about unusual, extreme, and distressing mental states, as well as to reclaim languages about madness that are viewed as inappropriate and stigmatizing. This course explores the recent history of madness studies as an academic discipline, charting its relationship to historical shifts in mental health research and practice, as well as to related interdisciplinary arenas such as disability studies, liberation psychology, and the philosophy of psychiatry. We examine the rise of consumer, survivor, and ex-patient (C/S/X) movements, exploring differences among those who identify as having mad pride and mental illness. With particular focus on first-person accounts of lived experience, readings cover issues of epistemic and social justice in mental health discourse. Throughout the course, students attend to pluralistic ways of understanding and studying madness, including biopsychiatric, psychosocial, spiritual, and indigenous approaches.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS PSYC
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: None

Last Updated on DEC-03-2024
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