This way madness lies : the asylum and beyond

Jay, Mike 1959 - (Author). Rodríguez Muñoz, Bárbara, (curator.). Wellcome Collection, (organizer,, host instituition.).

Summary: Is mental illness-- or madness-- at root an illness of the body, a disease of the mind, or a sickness of the soul? Should those who suffer from it be secluded from society or integrated more fully into it? This book explores the meaning of mental illness through the successive incarnations of the institution that defined it: the madhouse, designed to segregate its inmates from society; the lunatic asylum, which intended to restore the reason of sufferers by humane treatment; and the mental hospital, which reduced their conditions to diseases of the brain. Rarely seen photographs and illustrations drawn from the archives of mental institutions in Europe and the U.S. illuminate and reinforce the compelling narrative, while extensive 'gallery' sections present revealing and thought-provoking artworks by asylum patients and other artists from each era of the institution and beyond.--

Record details

ISBN: 9780500518977
ISBN: 0500518971
Physical Description: print
255 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm
Publisher: New York, New York : Thames & Hudson, 2016.

Content descriptions

General Note:	"This book is published in partnership with Wellcome Collection for the exhibition 'Bedlam: the asylum and beyond', curated by Mike Jay and Bárbara Rodriguez Mun̋oz, held at Wellcome Collection, London, from 15 September 2016 to 15 January 2017"--Page 255.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-251) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The madhouse : 18th century -- The lunatic asylum : 19th century -- The mental hospital : 20th century -- Beyond the asylum : 21st century.