Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity in Victorian Society

Caterham Asylum, 1867-1911
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-3-030-27334-7
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 212 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 418 g

Reihe: Mental Health in Historical Perspective

This book explores the understudied history of the so-called ‘incurables’ in the Victorian period, the people identified as idiots, imbeciles and the weak-minded, as opposed to those thought to have curable conditions. It focuses on Caterham, England’s first state imbecile asylum, and analyses its founding, purpose, character, and most importantly, its residents, innovatively recreating the biographies of these people. Created to relieve pressure on London’s overcrowded workhouses, Caterham opened in September 1870. It was originally intended as a long-stay institution for the chronic and incurable insane paupers of the metropolis, more commonly referred to as idiots and imbeciles. This purpose instantly differentiates Caterham from the more familiar, and more researched, lunatic asylums, which were predicated on the notion of cure and restoration of the senses. Indeed Caterham, built following the welfare and sanitary reforms of the late 1860s, was an important feature of the Victorian institutional landscape, and it represented a shift in social, medical and political responsibility towards the care and management of idiot and imbecile paupers.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Eastoe, Stef

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Geschichte der Medizin
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Introduction and the Roots of Caterham.- Chapter 2: Creating Caterham.- Chapter 3: Populating Caterham.- Chapter 4: Experiencing Caterham.- Chapter 5: Visualising Idiocy, Visualising Caterham.- Chapter 6: Geographies of Idiocy.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Stef Eastoe is a social and cultural historian, who has taught courses on the social history of medicine at several British universities. She specializes in the history of idiocy, welfare, and Victorian institutions, and has had work published in Journal of Victorian Culture and Landscape Research.