Regina G. Kunzel, "In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

Regina G. Kunzel, "In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

Author: New Books Network August 25, 2024 Duration: 50:36
In the mid-twentieth century, American psychiatrists proclaimed homosexuality a mental disorder, one that was treatable and amenable to cure. Drawing on a collection of previously unexamined case files from St. Elizabeths Hospital, In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life (U Chicago Press, 2024) explores the encounter between psychiatry and queer and gender-variant people in the mid- to late-twentieth-century United States. It examines psychiatrists’ investments in understanding homosexuality as a dire psychiatric condition, a judgment that garnered them tremendous power and authority at a time that historians have characterized as psychiatry’s “golden age.” That stigmatizing diagnosis made a deep and lasting impact, too, on queer people, shaping gay life and politics in indelible ways. In the Shadow of Diagnosis helps us understand the adhesive and ongoing connection between queerness and sickness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the complex and ever-evolving world of human intimacy with New Books in Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work. As part of the New Books Network's extensive academic library, this channel offers a space for serious, accessible conversation about the latest scholarship. Each episode features an in-depth interview where authors discuss their recent publications with a knowledgeable host, breaking down intricate research into engaging dialogue. You'll hear about historical perspectives on desire, scientific explorations of attraction, cultural analyses of identity, and the social and political dimensions of sex work. The discussions are nuanced and thoughtful, moving beyond headlines to explore the real questions scholars are asking today. This podcast makes cutting-edge academic work available to anyone curious about the forces that shape our most personal lives. By focusing on newly published books, it ensures listeners are connected to the most current ideas and debates across multiple disciplines, from history and social science to arts and literature. Tune in for a consistently enlightening exploration of the books that are defining how we understand sex and sexuality.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

New Books in Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
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