Diagnosing Literary Genius: A Cultural History of Psychiatry in Russia, 1880-193

Description: Diagnosing Literary Genius by Irina Sirotkina By examining the psychiatric engagement with the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and the decadents and revolutionaries, Sirotkina provides a rich account of Russias medical and literary history during this turbulent revolutionary period. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description The vital place of literature and the figure of the writer in Russian society and history have been extensively studied, but their role in the evolution of psychiatry is less well known. In this book, Irina Sirotkina explores the transformations of Russian psychiatric practice through its relationship to literature. During this period, psychiatrists began to view literature as both an indicator of the nations mental health and an integral part of its well-being. By aligning themselves with writers, psychiatrists argued that the aim of their science was not dissimilar to the literary project of exploring the human soul and reflecting on the psychological ailments of the age. Through the writing of pathographies (medical biographies), psychiatrists strengthened their social standing, debated political issues under the guise of literary criticism, and asserted moral as well as professional claims. By examining the psychiatric engagement with the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and the decadents and revolutionaries, Sirotkina provides a rich account of Russias medical and literary history during this turbulent revolutionary period. Notes Sirotkina presents a comprehensive overview of the various approaches to madness found from the end of the Imperial period through to the establishment of Stalinist hegemony. Her approach is unique; her material quite exhaustive; and her insights, into the history of medicine, history of literature, and the cultural history of Russia, extraordinary. -- Sander L. Gilman, University of Illinois at Chicago Irina Sirotkina has written a fascinating history of the evolution of the profession of psychiatry in Russia between the 1880s and 1930 by focusing on the borderland where medicine and literature intersect. Examining the psychiatric pathographies of Russias most celebrated writers, the author offers a new interpretation of Russian intellectual history in the transitional era before and after the revolution. -- Martin A. Miller, Duke University As Irina Sirotkina points out, the Russian intelligentsia has always granted an exalted role to literature and literati. By exploring Russian psychiatrists changing diagnoses of the countrys most famous literary figures-particularly Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy-she offers an engaging and instructive look at their changing ideas about mental illness, genius, and creativity, and embeds those ideas convincingly in Russias turbulent social, political, and cultural history from the mid-nineteenth century through the early years of Soviet rule. -- Daniel P. Todes, The Johns Hopkins University Author Biography Irina Sirotkina is a research fellow at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Table of Contents Contents: Preface On Transliteration and Spelling Introduction 1 Gogol, Moralists, and Nineteenth-Century Psychiatry 2 Dostoevsky: From Epilepsy to Progeneration 3 Tolstoy and the Beginning of Psychotherapy in Russia 4 Decadents, Revolutionaries, and the Nations Mental Health 5 The Institute of Genius: Psychiatry in the Early Soviet Years Notes Bibliography Index Review Irina Sirotkina gives a fascinating account of the growth of psychiatry in Russia through the prism of literature. -- Anne Garside Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease [Sirotkina] has a deep interest in her subject, and she offers a mine of information and commentary about the linked histories of psychiatry and literature in Russia (and in the post-1917 Russian emigre community). The results of her archival research are most rewarding for anyone interested in the history of Russian psychiatry. -- Daniel Rancour-Laferriere Times Literary Supplement In this absorbing work of exemplary scholarship, Irina Sirotkina... convincingly correlates trends in the theory and practice of Russian psychotherapy, during the fifty-year period studied, with changing developments in sociopolitical thought. -- Martin Bidney Slavic Review A worthy and cleverly constructed attempt to redress the excesses of casting psychiatry as a self-interested body. -- Ben Mayhew Medical History A valuable contribution to our understanding of the history of Russian psychiatry. -- Laura Goering Journal of the History of Medicine An interesting and respectable history of a critical time in Russias history. -- Cary Federman European Legacy Promotional Sirotkina presents a comprehensive overview of the various approaches to madness found from the end of the Imperial period through to the establishment of Stalinist hegemony. Her approach is unique; her material quite exhaustive; and her insights, into the history of medicine, history of literature, and the cultural history of Russia, extraordinary. -- Sander L. Gilman, University of Illinois at Chicago Irina Sirotkina has written a fascinating history of the evolution of the profession of psychiatry in Russia between the 1880s and 1930 by focusing on the borderland where medicine and literature intersect. Examining the psychiatric pathographies of Russias most celebrated writers, the author offers a new interpretation of Russian intellectual history in the transitional era before and after the revolution. -- Martin A. Miller, Duke University As Irina Sirotkina points out, the Russian intelligentsia has always granted an exalted role to literature and literati. By exploring Russian psychiatrists changing diagnoses of the countrys most famous literary figures-particularly Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy-she offers an engaging and instructive look at their changing ideas about mental illness, genius, and creativity, and embeds those ideas convincingly in Russias turbulent social, political, and cultural history from the mid-nineteenth century through the early years of Soviet rule. -- Daniel P. Todes, The Johns Hopkins University Prizes Winner of MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures 2004 (United States) Long Description The vital place of literature and the figure of the writer in Russian society and history have been extensively studied, but their role in the evolution of psychiatry is less well known. In Diagnosing Literary Genius: A Cultural History of Psychiatry in Russia, 1880-1930, Irina Sirotkina explores the transformations of Russian psychiatric practice through its relationship to literature. During this period, psychiatrists began to view literature as both an indicator of the nations mental health and an integral part of its well-being. By aligning themselves with writers, psychiatrists argued that the aim of their science was not dissimilar to the literary project of exploring the human soul and reflecting on the psychological ailments of the age. Through the writing of pathographies (medical biographies), psychiatrists strengthened their social standing, debated political issues under the guise of literary criticism, and asserted moral as well as professional claims. By examining the psychiatric engagement with the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and the decadents and revolutionaries, Sirotkina provides a rich account of Russias medical and literary history during this turbulent revolutionary period. Review Text ""An interesting and respectable history of a critical time in Russias history."" Review Quote "[Sirotkina] has a deep interest in her subject, and she offers a mine of information and commentary about the linked histories of psychiatry and literature in Russia (and in the post-1917 Russian Description for Sales People Explores transformations of Russian psychiatric practice after the Revolution. Incorporates Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Tolstoy, as well as the Decadents and revolutionaries Details ISBN0801867827 Author Irina Sirotkina Short Title DIAGNOSING LITERARY GENIUS Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press Language English ISBN-10 0801867827 ISBN-13 9780801867828 Media Book Format Hardcover Year 2002 Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press Subtitle A Cultural History of Psychiatry in Russia, 1880-1930 Place of Publication Baltimore, MD Country of Publication United States Audience Age 17 Residence RUR Illustrations No DOI 10.1604/9780801867828 NZ Release Date 2002-03-08 US Release Date 2002-03-08 UK Release Date 2002-03-08 Pages 288 Series Medicine and Culture Publication Date 2002-03-08 Alternative 9780801876899 DEWEY 306.461 Audience Professional & Vocational AU Release Date 2002-01-14 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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