The Madwoman and the Institution 2021

Two-day online conference that aims to interrogate the experience of female insanity in the 19th Century. 15/16 July 2021.

Email: [email protected]

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Tickets are now available to book for The Madwoman & The Institution - 15/16 July 2021 - which will be online:

Thursday - https://t.co/sQTVe8vRCW

Friday - https://t.co/aPROKHxEmS

Looking forward to seeing you there!

[Rebecca Wynter 💙⭐ @rebeccawynter]

Come and hear me talk about 'Policing Mental Health', and @AggieCrank talk about women and 'criminal lunacy'!

#HistPsych #HistMed #HistSTM

[Our Criminal Past @ourcriminalpast]

#SecretsOfTheMuseum @V_and_A @BBCTwo female convict prisoners made mosaic tiles which make the beautiful floor in Cast Courts, Room 46 of V&A. Made by women held in Woking convict prison around 1870s/1880s #prisonhistory #prison @prisonhistoryuk @Victorian @YvonneJewkes

[Rebecca Wynter 💙⭐ @rebeccawynter]

Fabulous two days at @TMATIConf2021 - a very rich programme of great papers and speakers, but equally a fabulous discussion by all participants, which the chat function seems to encourage and democratise. Thanks to organisers @AnnaFranJam @Caradobbing and Jessamy👏 #TMATI2021

[Jacqui Sanders @Ela_Dara_]

Two late nights but so worth it!
Enjoyed every minute of The Madwoman and the Institution Conference. Immense thanks to @AnnaFranJam, @Caradobbing &
@jessamycarlson for organising this event!
@TMATIConf2021 #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Female prisoners demonstrated agency through “breaking out”. Which blurred the lines between being “mad” and being “bad” #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

It’s time for our keynote session! Prof. Hilary Marland is looking at female mental disorders in asylums & prisons and acts of agency #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Women suffering with puerperal insanity used subtle methods of agency to gain respite, and then cure, for their conditions #TMATI2021

[Rebecca Wynter 💙⭐ @rebeccawynter]

Want more detail? Want to know more about the last two days of presentations on #HistPsych #HistMed #HistSTM #WmnsHist? Check out the hashtag #TMATI2021 and the handle @TMATIConf2021

[Jacqui Sanders @Ela_Dara_]

Food for thought regarding puerperal insanity - a woman's reaction to their lifestyles and motherhood. Respite was a cure. #TMATI2021 @TMATIConf2021

[Our Criminal Past @ourcriminalpast]

Great discussion so far this morning #TMATI2021 now the plenary session by Hilary Marland: Breaking Down and Breaking out: Women, Mental Disorder and Agency in Nineteenth-Century Asylums and Prisons @HistPrisnHealth @TMATIConf2021

[Rebecca Wynter 💙⭐ @rebeccawynter]

Beautifuly constructed and multi-sourced, draws on diaries, plays, press, and institutional records. Hannah More's philanthropy paid for a private asylum, but, after Louisa's deterioration, she reflected on whether Louisa's beauty or situation had pricked her heart #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

“Louisa” and her madness was widely written about & portrayed visually. Her vulnerability & beauty was emphasised. This attention reignited when she died #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Next on panel 3 is Len Smith, taking us through a Georgian Tale of female madness & mystery #TMATI2021

[Rebecca Wynter 💙⭐ @rebeccawynter]

Len is considering 'Louisa' - the name given to her by locals in a village close to Bristol, the neighbours of the haystack under which she chose to reside - and her life story from the point of her unexpected appearance in the village.

[Jacqui Sanders @Ela_Dara_]

Reading as Cause and Cure of Female Insanity in the Asylum. Women’s bodies were considered put at risk by the power of books. Offering therapeutic potential, many asylums developed libraries and encouraged reading. @lauragrayblair #TMATI2021 @TMATIConf2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

But…reading also advocated as beneficial and periodicals recommended as part of treatment in asylums #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Next up is @lauragrayblair who is taking us through reading as a cause & cure of female insanity #TMATI2021

[The Madwoman and the Institution 2021 @TMATIConf2021]

Reading and it’s addictive properties could be considered dangerous & linked to female immorality #TMATI2021

[Dr Anna Jamieson @AnnaFranJam]

"If your daughter reads novels at ten, she will have the vapours at twenty". Fantastic quote in @lauragrayblair's paper, ‘Warping the Woman’s Nature’: Reading as Cause and Cure of Female Insanity in the Asylum' @TMATIConf2021 #TMATI2021