Healthy Minds in the Twentieth Century : In and Beyond the Asylum

This open access edited collection contributes a new dimension to the study of mental health and psychiatry in the twentieth century. It takes the present literature beyond the ‘asylum and after’ paradigm to explore the multitude of spaces that have been permeated by concerns about mental well-being and illness. The chapters in this volume consciously attempt to break down institutional walls and consider mental health through the lenses of institutions, policy, nomenclature, art, lived experience, and popular culture. The book adopts an international scope covering the historical experiences of Britain, Ireland, and North America. In accordance with this broad approach, contributions to the volume span academic fields such as history, arts, literary studies, sociology, and psychology, mirroring the diversity of the subject matter. 

This book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Steven J. Taylor is a Wellcome Trust ISSF Early Career Fellow in the History of Poverty and Medicine at the University of Leicester, UK. His research explores ideas and constructions of childhood health, lay and professional diagnoses, ability and disability, and institutional care. His first monograph, Beyond the Asylum: Child Insanity in England, 1845-1907, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2017.  

Alice Brumby is a Lecturer at York St John University, UK. Her research interests focus upon twentieth century mental health care and the role of the community, families and patients in accessing care and treatment. She has published work in First World War Studies and History Today amongst other publications.