ThoughtGallery.org > Crazy Right Now: American Women and Mental Health, 19th Century to the Present

Crazy Right Now: American Women and Mental Health, 19th Century to the Present

female hysteriaCrazy Right Now: American Women and Mental Health, 19th Century to the Present

The idea that “b*tches be crazy” is not new. Since the dawn of Christianity, women have been construed and constructed as mentally unstable. This series will look at the origins of these ideas, the lack of protection women had because they were wards of their fathers or husbands, and examine the lasting implications of this legacy of women and madness.

3/14—In the Beginning…American Construction of Female Infirmity

This session will examine the various institutions that restricted women’s voices as well as constructed the idea that women were inherently defective, both mentally and physically. Topics will include: religion, European precedents, the first biologists and early gynecology.

3/21—From Asylum to Activist

This session will focus on various activists who spoke out for the rights of those who were in mental institutions, particularly during the Victorian Era. They were almost exclusively American women, some of whom had been committed themselves. We will discuss people like Dorothea Dix and Elizabeth Ware Packard, and look at how institutionalized people were treated. We will also continue a discussion about gynecology and treatments for women who were “hysterical”.

3/28—“Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, nah nah nah”: Women and Madness Today

Women are not just “crazy in love” today. The legacies of our country live on, though in more subtle ways. We will look at issues of how sexual assault and harassment are constructed in contemporary America, as well as other assumptions that hurt both women and men.

You will be emailed a pre-reading for these classes.

Dahlia Valle is a History and Women and Gender Studies professor at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

Held: Mondays, March 14, 21, & 28
From: 7:30pm – 9pm

At: Chinatown Soup

16 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Cost: $40 for 3-part series; $15 for one











When: Mon., Mar. 21, 2016 - Tue., Mar. 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

female hysteriaCrazy Right Now: American Women and Mental Health, 19th Century to the Present

The idea that “b*tches be crazy” is not new. Since the dawn of Christianity, women have been construed and constructed as mentally unstable. This series will look at the origins of these ideas, the lack of protection women had because they were wards of their fathers or husbands, and examine the lasting implications of this legacy of women and madness.

3/14—In the Beginning…American Construction of Female Infirmity

This session will examine the various institutions that restricted women’s voices as well as constructed the idea that women were inherently defective, both mentally and physically. Topics will include: religion, European precedents, the first biologists and early gynecology.

3/21—From Asylum to Activist

This session will focus on various activists who spoke out for the rights of those who were in mental institutions, particularly during the Victorian Era. They were almost exclusively American women, some of whom had been committed themselves. We will discuss people like Dorothea Dix and Elizabeth Ware Packard, and look at how institutionalized people were treated. We will also continue a discussion about gynecology and treatments for women who were “hysterical”.

3/28—“Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, nah nah nah”: Women and Madness Today

Women are not just “crazy in love” today. The legacies of our country live on, though in more subtle ways. We will look at issues of how sexual assault and harassment are constructed in contemporary America, as well as other assumptions that hurt both women and men.

You will be emailed a pre-reading for these classes.

Dahlia Valle is a History and Women and Gender Studies professor at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

Held: Mondays, March 14, 21, & 28
From: 7:30pm – 9pm

At: Chinatown Soup

16 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Cost: $40 for 3-part series; $15 for one

Buy tickets/get more info now