"Understanding Madness: Between Medieval and Modern Perspectives" to be held in Oxford on 29 March 2010 (360G-Wellcome-091943_Z_10_Z)

Exploring the history of understanding madness Competing ways of understanding madness are not a recent phenomenon but are evident throughout history. One interesting and understudied example are the writings of the Jewish physicians who worked at the court of Saladin, the famous Muslim war hero of the Crusader period. How did they understand and treat madness at one of the apogees of medieval science? How did their interpretation compare to those of other people living in the medieval Islamic world? What can poems or the history of hospitals tell us about how madness was understood? Interdisciplinary discourse Historical interpretations of how people understood madness will be evaluated in an interdisciplinary environment. Psychiatrists, philosophers, and neuroscientists will respond to the contributions of historians, evaluating the different explanations and treatments of madness and their relevance to present day debates. Preparation of a larger symposium This workshop is intended to establish a network that will support the development of a larger symposium ?Understanding Madness? in autumn 2010 or spring 2011.