Synopses & Reviews
While much has been written on the history of psychiatry, remarkably little has been written about psychiatric collections or curating. Exhibiting Madness in Museums offers a comparative history of independent and institutional collections of psychiatric objects in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. Leading scholars in the field investigate collectors, collections, their display, and the reactions to exhibitions of the history of insanity. Linked to the study of medical museums this work broadens the study of the history of psychiatry by investigating the significance and importance of the role of twentieth-century psychiatric communities in the preservation, interpretation and representation of the history of mental health through the practice of collecting. In remembering the asylum and its different communities in the twentieth century, individuals who lived and worked inside an institution have struggled to preserve the physical character of their world. This collection of essays considers the way that collections of objects from the former psychiatric institution have played a role in constructions of its history. It historicises the very act of collecting, and also examines ethical problems and practices which arise from these activities for curators and exhibitions.
Synopsis
While much has been written on the history of psychiatry, remarkably little has been written about psychiatric collections or curating. This innovative volume offers a comparative history of independent and institutional collections of psychiatric objects around the globe. Leading scholars in the field investigate collectors, collections, their display, and the reactions to exhibitions of the history of insanity. Linked to the study of medical museums, this work broadens the study of the history of psychiatry by analyzing, for the first time, the significance of twentieth-century psychiatric communities in the preservation, interpretation, and representation of the history of mental health through the practice of collecting.
No text has ever before examined the extensive practice of psychiatric collections throughout the world necessary to generate a representative history of psychiatry. This collection of essays spanning the nineteenth to the twenty-first century includes themes from the history of psychiatry and medicine, anthropology, biomedical ethics, and museum studies, using case study evidence from Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, opening new research trajectories with major implications for scholars working throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and South Africa.