Madness and Modernism: Insanity in the Light of Modern Art, Literature and Thought is the magnum opus of the distinguished clinical psychologist and phenomenologist of psychopathology Louis A. Sass. Twenty-five years after its initial publication by Basic Books and then Harvard University Press, a revised edition, published by Oxford University Press in 2017, is introducing new readers to one of the most complex and compelling accounts of the phenomenology of schizophrenia and its reciprocally illuminating relationship with a modernism characterised by paradox and hyperreflexivity, self-consciousness and self-alienation.
A symposium to celebrate, interrogate and reflect upon the significance and wide-ranging influence of Madness and Modernism will be held at Priors Hall, Durham Cathedral on Friday 11 May 2018, 10.15 – 6pm. It features the following presentations:
- Åsa Jansson (University of Durham) Melancholic Delusions and Modern Madness
- Joel Krueger (Exeter University) Sass, Schizophrenia, and the Scaffolded Self
- Elizabeth Barry (Warwick University) Beckett, Sass and Schizophrenia: The Assault on Ipseity
- Matt ffytche (University of Essex) Reviewing Madness and Modernism through the lens of Outsider Writing
- Louis Sass (Rutgers University) in conversation with Patricia Waugh (University of Durham)
The symposium is free to attend but places are limited and registration is essential here. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day, which concludes with an informal wine reception.
Please tweet about this symposium using hashtag #MadnessandModernism
The symposium, convened by Angela Woods, is jointly hosted by Hearing the Voice and the Centre for Medical Humanities and funded by the Wellcome Trust.