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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 and what does it mean for the mind to go 'wrong'? And once it has gone wrong, how should it be treated? Once considered the seat of the soul, the human mind has been captured by science, reduced to a brain. Metaphysical explanations of madness (theological and magical) have been superseded by scientific theories (neurological and material), thus reshaping our understanding and experience of madness.
'Minds and Madness' explores this transformation by visiting a number of places of therapy, including: Bedlam and the asylum; the psychoanalysts couch; the battlefield; the operating theatre; and, the padded cell. In the process, we will introduce students to the dominant theories of madness over time (biological and psychosocial) and the therapies that have ensued. We will describe the exploits of the famous and the infamous; the mad-doctors, alienists, psychiatrists, quacks, analysts. And we will investigate 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: 27 April 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: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Semester 2
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Short Essay
| Week 5 | 25% |
Report
| Week 10 | 37.5% |
Critical Reflection
| During the examination period | 37.5% |
Last updated: 27 April 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 23 July 2018 to 21 October 2018 Last self-enrol date 3 August 2018 Census date 31 August 2018 Last date to withdraw without fail 21 September 2018 Assessment period ends 16 November 2018 Semester 2 contact information
Email: jbradley@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 27 April 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 Major 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: 27 April 2024