 |
The Pathological Laboratory of the Asylum in the late-nineteenth century, from
The West Yorkshire Archive Service, Wakefield, C85/1388-1438 |
Conference
Science in the asylum: psychiatry, pathology, and laboratory.
19 October 2012.
The conference will use the former West Riding Asylum in Wakefield,
Yorkshire, as a starting point to investigate scientific research in the
asylum more widely. The West Riding Asylum, founded in 1818, was by the
end of the Victorian era a model of new ‘scientific’ psychiatry. From
the 1870s onwards, work in the asylum’s laboratory contributed to
developing knowledge in the fields of bacteriology and pathology. The
late-19th to mid-20th century witnessed investigations into cerebral
localization, the establishment of an acute hospital, and a variety of
attempts to discover the physical origins of mental illness. This
research played an important part in contemporary understandings of
insanity, and its significance extended to such matters as public health
and medico-legal questions, as well as establishing groundwork for
later developments in child psychology and drug treatment.
‘Science in the asylum’ will bring together researchers at various
stages in their careers to highlight the West Riding’s relevance to the
wider history of psychiatry and to address how we can utilise such
historical material today.
We are delighted to welcome
Dr Jonathan Andrews
(University of Newcastle) as our keynote speaker. You can view the full
programme, register, and plan your journey using the ‘Conference’ menu
above.
If you have any questions, please contact the conference organisers,
Jennifer Wallis or
Mike Finn.
Programme
Science in the asylum: psychiatry, pathology, and laboratory. 19 October 2012.
Supported by the
Centre for the History of the Emotions at QMUL,
the Centre for HPS at the University of Leeds, and the
British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS).
The conference will use the former West Riding Asylum in Wakefield,
Yorkshire, as a starting point to investigate scientific research in the
asylum more widely. The West Riding Asylum, founded in 1818, was by the
end of the Victorian era a model of new ‘scientific’ psychiatry. From
the 1870s onwards, work in the asylum’s laboratory contributed to
developing knowledge in the fields of bacteriology and pathology. The
late-19th to mid-20th century witnessed investigations into cerebral
localization, the establishment of an acute hospital, and a variety of
attempts to discover the physical origins of mental illness. This
research played an important part in contemporary understandings of
insanity, and its significance extended to such matters as public health
and medico-legal questions, as well as establishing groundwork for
later developments in child psychology and drug treatment.
‘Science in the asylum’ will bring together researchers at various
stages in their careers to highlight the West Riding’s relevance to the
wider history of psychiatry and to address how we can utilise such
historical material today.
We are delighted to welcome
Dr Jonathan Andrews
(University of Newcastle) as our keynote speaker. You can view the full
programme, register, and plan your journey using the ‘Conference’ menu
above.
If you have any questions, please contact the conference organisers,
Jennifer Wallis or
Mike Finn.
