SCY3380

Women, psychiatry and madness

Jan van Bommel

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* Second semester
* Clayton

Objectives This subject aims to introduce students to the socio-historical background which has shaped the various phases of the institutionalisation and de-institutionalisation of madness in contemporary society; introduce students to the diverse sociological and feminist critiques of the subject area, women, psychiatry and madness; familiarise students with different interpretations of psychoanalysis and female subjectivity, such as, Freudian, Lacanian and French feminist; enable students to understand, analyse and articulate the various theoretical approaches studied; provide students with analytical and conceptual resources so they may write clear and competent essays on various topics.

Synopsis We will begin with a socio-historical analysis of the institutionalisation of madness and its current practice of de-institutionalisation. We will then critically assess sociological, medical and feminist theories of femininity and madness. We will focus on how the institution psychiatry diagnoses as madness those aspects of women's experience it intends to invalidate and then cure. As well, we will examine various interpretations of psychoanalysis and female subjectivity (Freudian, Lacanian, French Feminist).

Assessment Two essays (3000 words each): 50% each

Preliminary reading

Bernheimer C and Kahane C (eds) In Dora's case: Freud, hysteria, feminism Virago, 1985
Busfield J Managing madness Unwin Hyman, 1989
Chesler P Women and madness Doubleday, 1972
Foucault M Madness and civilization Tavistock, 1967
Grosz E Sexual subversions Allen and Unwin, 1989
Russell D Women, madness and medicine Polity, 1995
Showalter E The female malady: Women, madness and English culture, 1830- 1980 Pantheon, 1985
Smith D E and David S J (eds) Women look at psychiatry Press Gang, 1975