On 3 Dec 2009 at 15:32, [email protected] wrote: > One of the students in my intro psych course is writing a paper for her > English class on hysteria. > > I am not a clinician and I have a very limited ability to answer her > questions she asked me. I could > probably google some information--but then so could she. I know wikipedia has > a good treatise. > > Specifically, she'd like to know two things: > (1) what do we now label the disorders that used to be called hysteria.
I have a vague memory of reading something on the topic which impressed me. After a bit of searching, it seems to me it might be Elaine Showalter's book "Hystories: hysterical epidemics and modern culture" (1997). Here's what an Amazon review (Library Journal) says about it: The ends of centuries have historically given rise to increased incidents of hysterical epidemics. Literary critic and medical historian Showalter has written a challenging and insightful history of hysteria that brings us up to the Nineties. After defining hysteria, she examines the subject from three perspectives: historically, including the work of Charcot and Freud; culturally, through literature, theater, and film; and, finally, in what is likely to be the book's most controversial area, in terms of epidemics. In this last section, the author hypothesizes that many of today's syndromes, including chronic fatigue, Gulf War, recovered memory, and multiple personality, along with increased reports of satanic ritual abuse and alien abduction, should be correctly categorized as hysterias. Showalter's main point, however, is not the denial of these phenomena but rather "how much power emotions have over the body." A thought-provoking work for informed readers.-- Kathleen L. Atwood, Pomfret Sch. Lib., Ct. It sounds like a good starting point for your student. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
