Pathologies of Solitude, 18th - 21st century (360G-Wellcome-207863_Z_17_Z)

Loneliness today is a serious health concern. This is generally regarded as a recent development but in fact solitariness has long been perceived as a medical risk, especially a psychological risk. Our present-day concern about social isolation and loneliness is framed by this largely neglected history. This project aims to remedy this neglect by undertaking the first health-related history of western solitude. Its leading premise is that the development of modern society has involved changes in perceptions of solitude whose overall tendency has been to pathologise and medicalise it. By documenting and analysing this process, the project will yield unprecedented insights into one of humankind’s most fundamental experiences, and one of contemporary society’s most complex health challenges. The primary research focus is on Britain; its chronological starting point is the long 18th century when modern medical perceptions of solitude first took shape, with developments in this period compared to those in succeeding centuries. An interdisciplinary research network has been assembled that will bring these historical findings into dialogue with scientific research about contemporary experiences of solitude. The project will also engage with campaigns devoted to alleviating loneliness, while an ambitious outreach programme will take its findings to the general public.