Dementia: A Cultural History

An episode of the Gresham College Lectures podcast, hosted by Gresham College, titled "Dementia: A Cultural History" was published on May 15, 2023 and runs 120 minutes.

May 15, 2023 ·120m · Gresham College Lectures

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Summary

Dementia is often designated the “plague” of the twenty-first century. What does a cultural history of dementia reveal about commonly circulating ideas relating to the brain, personhood, embodiment, and normal/abnormal? What difference do “labels” make – “melancholy”, “lunacy”, “dotage”, and “senility”, for example? The lecture uses the historical development of the science of geriatrics to reflect on the experience of ageing and claims about the modern self. A lecture by Joanna Bourke recor...

Episode Description

Dementia is often designated the “plague” of the twenty-first century. What does a cultural history of dementia reveal about commonly circulating ideas relating to the brain, personhood, embodiment, and normal/abnormal? What difference do “labels” make – “melancholy”, “lunacy”, “dotage”, and “senility”, for example?

The lecture uses the historical development of the science of geriatrics to reflect on the experience of ageing and claims about the modern self.

A lecture by Joanna Bourke recorded on 11 May 2023 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/dementia-history

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