Themes and Topics:
- Historical examination of psychiatric practices, including forced treatment and institutionalization.
- Psychiatry and Colonialism.
- The role of psychiatry in defining and regulating individuals with mental illness, particularly within the context of race and class hierarchies.
- Critiques of mainstream narratives surrounding psychiatric treatment and patient autonomy.
- Interplay between psychiatric practice and broader societal issues such as state-sanctioned violence and systemic inequalities.
- Analysis of contemporary movements like BLM and their implications for mental health services and policing.
- Exploration of legislative agendas and their impact on marginalized communities, including involuntary commitments.
- Examination of the historical roots of psychiatric discourse, including eugenics and biopower.
- Critiques of modern psychiatric practices, including Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and its underlying ideologies.
- Theoretical frameworks including biopolitics, thanatopolitics, and their manifestations within the psychiatric dispositif.
- Collaborative genealogical studies uncovering local moments of psychiatric power dynamics.
Methodology:
This volume adopts a reparative moral history approach, acknowledging the historical injustices perpetuated by psychiatry and their ongoing repercussions. By contextualizing past atrocities within present-day struggles, we aim to shed light on the moral responsibilities owed to marginalized communities impacted by psychiatric practices. Through critical inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration, we endeavor to expose and challenge institutional, structural, and cultural arrangements perpetuating inequality and injustice within psychiatric systems.
Submission Guidelines:
We invite contributions from scholars across disciplines, including history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and critical theory. Submissions may take the form of research articles, case studies, theoretical analyses, or interdisciplinary dialogues. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted by August 30, 2024, to Thomas Foth, tfoth@uottawa.ca.
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: [August 30, 2024]
Notification of Acceptance: [September 25, 2024]
Full Paper Submission Deadline: [March 30, 2025]