Perspectives on madness and psychiatry: An overview of the production in the area of History (Brazil, 1980-2011)

Abstract

This paper shows the Brazilian’s production of theses and dissertations from the 1980s to 2011 in the specialty of the Madness History and Psychiatry, in the History field. The objective was to recognize the characteristics of this specialty from a discussion about spatial and temporal distribution of this production; its accessibility; chronologic and geographic priority; main concerns and questions that were emerging from authors which are expressed by title and keywords as well as the inclusion of this production in a broader context that includes the trends recognized as knowledge frontiers of this specialty. The survey has showed us that the development of this specialty is marked by spatial, temporal and thematic concentration. In relation to space, we can see that great part of the production of thesis and dissertation was in programs and courses located in the States in the Southeast and South, and also that the case studies were located in the city that hosted the main campus of the universities. We could see that the production was concentrated between 2000 and 2009, what shows us the increasing interests in these themes. On other hand, we could see that the majority of the research studies analyzed the period between 1890 and 1966, which was identified as the period of formation and consolidation of psychiatry in Brazil. The psychiatric practices and care institutions were the prime themes and the majority of these research studies are analyzed in the so-called critical and revisionist historiography. Nowadays we can see the spread of historians’ interests, which are being boosted by the use of new sources and new theoretical-method references, especially those coming from cultural history.

Keywords: madness, psychiatry, historiography.