From Madness to Mental Health: Psychiatric Disorder and Its Treatment in Western Civilization

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments xiii This project was inspired, first and foremost, by students, friends, and colleagues . For some ten years now, I have taught a course on the history of madness and psychiatry in the Western world. Like many of my colleagues who teach their own version of this course, I found myself wishing there were an anthology of primary sources that could provide a glimpse into the long and complex history of mental disorders and their treatment. Over the past decade, historians, social scientists, and former patients have done a remarkable job of rewriting the secondary history of madness and psychiatry . And yet introducing students and other interested readers to the rich fund of primary sources in this history has often been an unwieldy task. After years in which I distributed photocopies and placed books on reserve at the library, the time seemed right to compile a collection of texts from well-known, little-known, and long-since-forgotten sources. I have no doubt that the selections made—and not made—will invariably disappoint . It is my hope, however, that in some small way this collection will kindle insight, provoke discussion, and encourage further reading. The intention is to provide a starting, not an end, point for thought and study. I am indebted to numerous individuals and institutions for their help and support. Both the College of the Liberal Arts and the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State University provided needed financial support to see this project through. I am also grateful for the generous assistance given to me by the staff at the National Library of Medicine as well as the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. I received invaluable suggestions and criticism from numerous colleagues and friends, in particular Jesse Ballenger, Viola Balz, John Burnham, Michael Carhart, Kumkum Chatterjee, Eric Engstrom, Gerald Grob, Baruch Halpern, Volker Hess, Andreas Killen, Ulrike Klöppel, Paul Lerner, Benoit Majerus, Bill Petersen, Hans Pols, Sajay Samuel, Ulf Schmidt, Michael Sokal, and Chloe Silverman. Doreen Valentine has been an ideal editor, shepherding me through the process from idea to artifact. I would be remiss if I did not also single out Gail Hornstein for agreeing to include her unique bibliography of first-person narratives of madness in this volume. Finally, as in most everything in my life, Natascha Hoffmeyer has been a vital source of advice and support. xiv — Acknowledgments From Madness to Mental Health page xvi is blank. ...