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Minds and Madness (HPSC30019)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Email: jbradley@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
What is the mind? What does it mean for the mind to malfunction? And how should it be treated when this occurs? 'Minds and Madness' provides an historical over-view of responses to these questions by patients, medical practitioners and society as a whole. Once considered the seat of the soul, the human mind has been captured by science, reduced to a brain, 'a hard-wired' neural network. Metaphysical explanations of madness (theological and magical) have been superseded by scientific theories (neurological and material), thus reshaping our understanding and experience of madness. Therapies have transformed accordingly. In exploring these important issues, the subject will visit the spaces and places of 'Minds and Madness', including: the ship of fools, Bedlam, the asylum, the psychiatrist"s couch and GPs rooms, the battlefield, the operating theatre, and the padded cell. It will introduce students to a cast of thousands, including: the fool (from King Lear and elsewhere), Burton, Descartes, Locke, Pinel, Kraepelin, Cotton, Freud, Laing, Engel and Spitzer. It will analyse and critique changing conceptions of mental diagnoses. it will delve into the new world of our contemporary neurosciences. Finally, it will explore how historians have made sense of this story.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject will:
- demonstrate a broad knowledge of the history and historiography of the historical and contemporary relationship between minds, madness and medicine;
- synthesise, analyse and assess arguments about minds and madness, and contextualise these arguments within the broader realms of history and philosophy;
- create effective arguments, backed up by convincing evidence, about the historical dynamics between minds, madness and medicine, and be able to express these to experts and interested non-experts alike;
- develop high-level research skills, including the ability to extend your knowledge-base beyond subject materials, combining traditional library- and archive-based research with digital research;
- engage with the world beyond the academy, through social media or other means;
- develop effective communication and presentation skills (written and oral), and the ability to collaborate constructively within the classroom;
- demonstrate ethical integrity in written work and classroom activities, including a deep ethical engagement with issues around mental health and illness.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Assessment
Additional details
- 1000-word report due week 6 (25%)
- 1000-word History of Psychiatry in 5 objects, due last week of teaching (25%)
- A 2000 word critical reflection, due during the end of semester examination period (50%)
Hurdle Requirements:
- Students must attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to pass this subject.
- Completion of 10 short weekly entries on object of the week.
- All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.
Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. After five working days late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator James Bradley Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 35 hours - 1 x 1 hour online lecture per week and 11 x 2 hour workshops from week 2-week 12 Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 24 July 2017 to 22 October 2017 Last self-enrol date 4 August 2017 Census date 31 August 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 September 2017 Assessment period ends 17 November 2017 Semester 2 contact information
Email: jbradley@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Madness: A Brief History (R Porter) Oxford University Press 2003
Subject readings will be available online
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Informal specialisation Graduate Diploma in Arts - History and Philosophy of Science Major History and Philosophy of Science Informal specialisation Graduate Certificate in Arts - History and Philosophy of Science - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Last updated: 19 March 2024