scholarly journals Reading about … the history of psychiatry

2012 ◽  
Vol 200 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Beveridge

In recent decades ideological battles have raged over how the history of psychiatry should be interpreted. Should the emergence of psychiatry in the late 18th century be seen as the triumph of the Enlightenment, ushering in a rational approach to mental illness and overturning the primitive and often barbaric ideas of previous eras? Or should the rise of psychiatry be seen in a more sinister light? Does it represent the extension of the state into the lives of its citizens, controlling and policing the disaffected and discontented? Are psychiatrists benign humanitarians or agents of oppression? Should the historical narrative be one of progress, as psychiatry steadily extends its knowledge of mental illness and develops more and more effective therapy? Or is the reverse true: has the advent of psychiatry been a calamity for the mad?

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
John Randolph

AbstractScholars agree that the first modern ethnographic traditions surrounding Russia developed in travel accounts written by foreigners in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. These laid the foundations for a 'national turn' in Russian belles-lettres in the late 18th century. Yet scholars have paid relatively little attention to the history of the coach system, known as the iam, that made travel writing about Muscovy possible. Many foreign travelers—as well as Imperial Russian hommes des lettres —were fascinated by the figures of Russia's iamshchiki, the state peasants who manned the state-organized coach system. The lives and expressions of these coachmen were often taken as proxies for Russia's national character. This article describes this process, demonstrating how the iam system provided a practical as well as a symbolic frame for the making of early conceptions of Russian nationality.


2008 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES H. BURNS

David Ure (1749–98) contributed, in his History of Rutherglen and East-Kilbride (1793) not only to local history but, especially, to the development in Scotland of natural history, in some aspects of which he played a pioneering part. His studies at Glasgow University (with John Anderson as one of his teachers) were followed by ordination to the ministry of the Church of Scotland. A ‘stickit minister’ for most of his life, he played a significant part in Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland and contributed also to the surveys prepared for Sinclair's Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement. Had he lived, he would have been Anderson's choice as professor of natural history in what became the Andersonian Institute. His writings reflect a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of knowledge with a view to improvement: he is thus a notable example of what the Enlightenment in late 18th-century Scotland was meant to exemplify and uphold.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-122
Author(s):  
Björn Moll

Abstract This article focusses on the discourse surrounding ›projectors‹, autoentrepeneurs, who made plans for innovations of any kind and tried to have potential financiers promote them, from the Baroque to German Romanticism. While the role of projectors in the history of science has been the object of historical study, there is a lack of research regarding the concept’s trajectory and its semantic variation. In the early modern period, the necessity of innovation was emphasized, but also the contingency of project proposals. During the Enlightenment, the tradition of the approval of project-making continued, but projects became detached from projectors. In the late 18th century, the idea of speculation and the fantastic transformed within the area of creativity, due to the primacy of imagination and genius. What happened to the talk about projectors and their ways of self-fashioning after the disappearance of the social figure? What enabled authors to refer to projectors and how was their role historically discussed? Projectors served as a topos of insanity or deception or a sign of unprofessionalism (as shown in examples by Goethe and Schiller). Romanticism carried with it the positive connotations of the project, but also reinterpreted its negative aspects, such as the value of incompletion, insanity and alternative ways of work.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 166-182
Author(s):  
Iryna Tsiborovska-Rymarovych

The article has as its object the elucidation of the history of the Vyshnivetsky Castle Library, definition of the content of its fund, its historical and cultural significance, correlation of the founder of the Library Mychailo Servaty Vyshnivetsky with the Book.The Vyshnivetsky Castle Library was formed in the Ukrainian historical region of Volyn’, in the Vyshnivets town – “family nest” of the old Ukrainian noble family of the Vyshnivetskies under the “Korybut” coat of arm. The founder of the Library was Prince Mychailo Servaty Vyshnivetsky (1680–1744) – Grand Hetman and Grand Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilno Voievoda. He was a politician, an erudite and great bibliophile. In the 30th–40th of the 18th century the main Prince’s residence Vyshnivets became an important centre of magnate’s culture in Rich Pospolyta. M. S. Vyshnivetsky’s contemporaries from the noble class and clergy knew quite well about his library and really appreciated it. According to historical documents 5 periods are defined in the Library’s history. In the historical sources the first place is occupied by old-printed books of Library collection and 7 Library manuscript catalogues dating from 1745 up to the 1835 which give information about quantity and topical structures of Library collection.The Library is a historical and cultural symbol of the Enlightenment epoch. The Enlightenment and those particular concepts and cultural images pertaining to that epoch had their effect on the formation of Library’s fund. Its main features are as follow: comprehensive nature of the stock, predominance of French eighteenth century editions, presence of academic books and editions on orientalistics as well as works of the ideologues of the Enlightenment and new kinds of literature, which generated as a result of this movement – encyclopaedias, encyclopaedian dictionaries, almanacs, etc. Besides the universal nature of its stock books on history, social and political thought, fiction were dominating.The reconstruction of the history of Vyshnivetsky’s Library, the historical analysis of the provenances in its editions give us better understanding of the personality of its owners and in some cases their philanthropic activities, and a better ability to identify the role of this Library in the culture life of society in a certain epoch.


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
Salahudeen Yusuf

The history of Islam in part of what is known today as Nigeria datesto about the loth Century. Christianity dates to the late 18th Century. Bythe middle of the 19th Century, when Nigerian newspapers began to appearon the streets of Nigeria, both religions had won so many followers and extendedto so many places in Nigeria that very few areas were untouched bytheir influence. The impact of both religions on their adherents not only determinedtheir spiritual life, but influenced their social and political lives aswell. It therefore became inevitable that both religions receive coverage frommost of the newspapers of the time. How the newspapers as media of informationand communication reported issues about the two religions is thetheme of this paper.Rationale for the StudyThe purpose of this study is to highlight the context in which such earlynewspapers operated and the factors that dictated their performance. Thisis because it is assumed that when a society faces external threat to its territory,culture, and independence, all hands (the press inclusive) ought tobe on deck to resist the threat with all might. Were newspapers used as verbalartillery and how did they present each religion? It is also assumed thatin a multireligious society a true press should be objective and serve as avanguard in the promotion of the interest of the people in general and notcreate or foster an atmosphere of religious conflict. The study also aims atfinding out whether the papers promoted intellectual honesty and fosteredthe spirit of unity particularly when the society was faced with the encroachmentof the British who posed a threat to their freedom, culture, economy ...


Author(s):  
Sergey S. Pashin ◽  
Natalia S. Vasikhovskaya

The article is devoted to the study of the movement for communist labour at the Tyumen Shipbuilding Plant during the period of the seven-year plan (1959-1965). The authors seek to fill a historical narrative with the particular facts connected with the peculiarities and specifics of such phenomenon as the movement for communist labour. They consider it in the context of microhistory and as the most important element of production routine. The employees of the largest industrial enterprise of Soviet Tyumen — Shipbuilding Plant in concrete historical circumstances came under the spotlight of the authors. The submitted article is written with attraction of a wide range of archival documents, taken from the funds of the State Archive of the Tyumen Region and also funds of the State Archive of Socio-Political History of the Tyumen Region. Having studied the documents the authors come to conclusion that the movement for communist labour had little effect on the production progress of the plant employees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-155
Author(s):  
Dag Herbjørnsrud ◽  

The Age of Enlightenment is more global and complex than the standard Eurocentric Colonial Canon narrative presents. For example, before the advent of unscientific racism and the systematic negligence of the contributions of Others outside of “White Europe,” Raphael centered Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in his Vatican fresco “Causarum Cognitio” (1511); the astronomer Edmund Halley taught himself Arabic to be more enlightened; The Royal Society of London acknowledged the scientific method developed by Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen). In addition, if we study the Transatlantic texts of the late 18th century, it is not Kant, but instead enlightened thinkers like Anton Wilhelm Amo (born in present-day’s Ghana), Phillis Wheatley (Senegal region), and Toussaint L’Ouverture (Haiti), who mostly live up to the ideals of reason, humanism, universalism, and human rights. One obstacle to developing a more balanced presentation of the Age of the Enlightenment is the influence of colonialism, Eurocentrism, and methodological nationalism. Consequently, this paper, part II of two, will also deal with the European Enlightenment’s unscientific heritage of scholarly racism from the 1750s. It will be demonstrated how Linnaeus, Hume, Kant, and Hegel were among the Founding Fathers of intellectual white supremacy within the Academy. Hence, the Age of Enlightenment is not what we are taught to believe. This paper will demonstrate how the lights from different “Global Enlightenments” can illuminate paths forward to more dialogue and universalism in the 21st century.


2018 ◽  
pp. 882-891
Author(s):  
Mikhail A. Kiselev ◽  

This is the first publication of the journal-book kept by famous Russian statesman and historian Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev from February 10 to April 2, 1734, after his appointment director of the Urals state-owned metallurgical plants. This document allows to clarify the circumstances of V. N Tatishchev's appointment to the Urals, including its date. According to the document, it was made on February 10 by oral order of the Empress. Immediately afterwards Vasily Nikitich plunged into planning his trip assisted by cabinet-ministers A. I. Osterman, A. M. Cherkassky, and president of the Commerce-Collegium P. P. Shafirov. The journal-book allows to reconstruct the flow of communication within the bureaucratic elite in 1730s. It also shows that internal documentation (minutes and registers) of the Cabinet of Ministers does not fully reflect its activities. It indicates that the Empress took a most active part and interest in Tatishchev’s appointment and his sending away; she thus sought to keep under her personal control all most important state affairs, including management of metallurgical plants. The document is of interest for studying history of Russian culture of the 18th century, as it contains some information about translator and writer K. A. Kondratovich and historian P. N. Krekshin. It intimates that Kondratovich was exiled to the Urals with Tatishchev by oral order from Anna Ioannovna. To this, there is no other documentary evidence, and therefore, Kondratovich attempted to mystify the circumstances of his exile to the Urals and to bury the fact in oblivion. The document is stored in the State Archive of the Sverdlovsk Region, Ekaterinburg.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 135-196
Author(s):  
Piotr Dymmel

Autor zajmuje się planami Lublina, które przedstawiają cały obszar miasta w historycznym rozwoju. Plany Lublina nie tworzą dziś zwartego zbioru zgromadzonego w jednym miejscu. Ze względu na swoje funkcje, czas i okoliczności powstania, a także postać fizyczną są rozproszone zarówno w sensie przestrzennym, jak i instytucjonalnym. Najwięcej zabytków kartograficznych, przedstawiających obszar Lublina, zachowało się w archiwach państwowych w Polsce, z kolei spośród nich największy zbiór posiada Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie. Sytuacja ta wynika zasadniczo z urzędowego charakteru tych materiałów, które od początku XIX w. były tworzone głównie dla potrzeb władz i urzędów państwowych oraz miejskich w ramach pełnionych przez nie funkcji. Powstawały one przy okazji dokumentowania różnych czynności, związanych m.in. ze zmianami własnościowymi, projektowaniem budowlanym, planowaniem urbanistycznym i zagospodarowaniem przestrzennym. Wiedza na ich temat jest niepełna, co powoduje, że stan rozpoznania i zinwentaryzowania lubelskich planów nie jest jeszcze kompletny. W Archiwum Państwowym w Lublinie jest przechowywanych około 50 planów przedstawiających całą przestrzeń Lublina. Pochodzą one z okresu prawie dwóch stuleci, od końca XVIII do połowy XX w. Plany znajdują się w różnych zespołach archiwalnych, występują w postaci kolekcji tworzonej przez pojedyncze zabytki kartograficzne lub znajdują się w ramach poszczególnych zespołów, jako dokumentacja spraw tworzona w wyniku działalności urzędów. Rozproszenie materiałów kartograficznych powoduje w konsekwencji potrzebę ich rozpoznania i opisania. Zadaniem autora jest wykonanie prac podstawowych związanych z poszukiwaniem i rejestracją oraz analizą i opisem zachowanych zabytków kartograficznych. Historical Maps of Lublin in the Collection of the State Archives in Lublin Part I: the Area of the Entire City The author discusses the maps of Lublin that present the entire area of the city in historical development. Today, the maps of Lublin do not form a coherent collection gathered in one place: on account of their functions, time, and the circumstances of their creation and also of their physical form they are dispersed, both in the spatial and institutional sense. Most of cartographic relics representing the area of Lublin are preserved in the State Archives all over Poland; the greatest collection is in turn stored in the State Archive in Lublin. This situation stems mainly from the official character of these materials which, from the beginning or the 19th century, were created generally for the needs of the authorities and state and city offices as part of their functions. They were created alongside with the documentation of various activities connected with, inter alia, changes of ownerships, construction design, urban planning, and spatial development. The knowledge on their subject is not complete – consequently, the state of identification and inventory of Lublin map is not yet complete. In the State Archive in Lublin about 50 maps representing the entire area of Lublin are stored. They come from the period of almost two centuries, from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. The maps are kept in various archival fonds, they appear in the form of collections created by single, cartographic pieces or are within particular fonds as the documentation of cases created as a result of the activity of the offices. Consequently, the dispersion of cartographic materials necessitates their identification and description. The author’s task is to carry out the basic work connected with the search, registration, analysis, and description of the preserved cartographic materials.


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