INQ-120 | The Art of Madness

Full Title: The Art of Madness: Mental Illness in Life and Literature

Topic Description:

This course explores the concept of madness as it has been historically deployed from the Early Modern Period to the present day allowing us to see how different philosophical and religious traditions have discussed the issue of mental illness. By looking at the ways madness has been understood throughout history, students will investigate the societal marginalization of those deemed mentally unsound, deviant, abnormal, etc. By exploring the construction of madness and deviance we also question our own conceptions of normalcy and raise questions of how an ethical society deals with this issue. The course will further ask students to investigate their own understandings of madness and insanity as they relate to broader ethical, philosophical and religious approaches to madness across different historical periods. We will look at a wide variety of representations that suggest a philosophical approach to madness demonstrating this term’s engagement with larger social issues as a reflection and critique of social injustice.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: December 2009