History of psychiatry

Journée d’études co-organisée par le C²DH à Aubervilliers.

Nouvelle parution écrit par Nicolas Henckes (Cermes3) et Benoît Majerus (Université du Luxembourg).

Research seminar with Benoît Majerus and Samuel Dal Zilio.

Book edited by Joris Vandendriessche and Benoît Majerus and published by Manchester University Press.

Webinar to discuss the book 'Material Cultures of Psychiatry' edited by Monika Ankele and Benoît Majerus, published with Transcript.

In recent years the buzzword in historical research has been "transnational history". Although over the past 15 years some historians have begun to integrate this perspective into the history of medicine and psychiatry, especially with respect to colonial history, this research area remains underdeveloped. It goes without saying that there have been transnational contacts and transfers of knowledge in the psychiatric field - translations of books, international conferences, correspondence, memberships in associations, international travel - but research on these processes remains rare. This raises the urgent question of how to approach research on psychiatric history with a transnational framework in mind.

Benoît Majerus and Anne Roekens (Université Catholique de Louvain) have edited a special issue ‘Histories of Psychiatry’ of the Journal of Belgian History. The issue contains five articles exploring different research trends. Two of these contributions were by members of the C²DH: Benoît Majerus and Eva Andersen.

Internationale Tagung des Instituts für Geschichte und Ethik der Medizin Hamburg in Kooperation mit der Universität Luxemburg und der Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg.

In recent years the buzzword in historical research has been "transnational history". Although over the past 15 years some historians have begun to integrate this perspective into the history of medicine and psychiatry, especially with respect to colonial history, this research area remains underdeveloped. It goes without saying that there have been transnational contacts and transfers of knowledge in the psychiatric field - translations of books, international conferences, correspondence, memberships in associations, international travel - but research on these processes remains rare. This raises the urgent question of how to approach research on psychiatric history with a transnational framework in mind.

In the past, our ideas of psychiatric hospitals and their history have been shaped by objects like straitjackets, cribs and binding belts. These powerful objects are often used as a synonym for psychiatry and the way psychiatric patients are treated. But what do we really know about the social life (see Majerus 2011) of psychiatric patients and the stories of less spectacular objects in the everyday life of psychiatric institutions? What do we know about the material cultures of these places in general?