Psychology Today | 29.05.2026 05:57
This year, I taught a brand-new class on the history of the psychiatric asylum with my colleague, Dr Hannah Proctor. "Bedlam and Beyond: The Controversial History of the Asylum" is a seminar-based class where students explore why asylums emerged, what happened in them, and why they began to shut down during the second half of the 20th century. During the course of the year, we also discuss a whole range of controversies, including why people ended up in asylums, how they were treated, and whether asylums were a force for good or ill in society.
