Negotiating the asylum : patient agency and institutional authority in Lancaster County Asylum, 1840 to 1915
This thesis examines the history of Lancaster Asylum, Lancashire's first county asylum, from 1840 to 1915 to explore the relationship between asylum authority and patient agency in the institution. Whereas current historiography has dichotomized patients' responses to asylum life as passive or resistant, this thesis advocates for a more nuanced definition of agency. A broader framework for thinking about the agency of marginalized groups, including asylum patients, is suggested. Patient resistance, coping mechanisms and engagement are considered as mechanisms of agentive behaviour. The relationship of patient agency and asylum authority is explored to illuminate the implications of power relationships in the asylum for the development of the institution. By focussing on a single institution over a 75-year period, this thesis traces the impact of patient agency on the development of psychiatric medicine in Lancaster Asylum. The relationship between patient agency and asylum authority is explored through two interconnected levels. Firstly, an in-depth qualitative analysis of casebooks permits a discussion of incidents of conflict, accommodation, and cooperation between patients and asylum authorities. Secondly,
Mullen, Natalie
Negotiating the asylum : patient agency and institutional authority in Lancaster County Asylum, 1840 to 1915. This thesis examines the history of Lancaster Asylum, Lancashire's first county asylum, from 1840 to 1915 to explore the relationship between asylum authority and patient agency in the institution. Whereas current historiography has dichotomized patients' responses to asylum life as passive or resistant, this thesis advocates for a more nuanced definition of agency. A broader framework for thinking about the agency of marginalized groups, including asylum patients, is suggested. Patient resistance, coping mechanisms and engagement are considered as mechanisms of agentive behaviour. The relationship of patient agency and asylum authority is explored to illuminate the implications of power relationships in the asylum for the development of the institution. By focussing on a single institution over a 75-year period, this thesis traces the impact of patient agency on the development of psychiatric medicine in Lancaster Asylum. The relationship between patient agency and asylum authority is explored through two interconnected levels. Firstly, an in-depth qualitative analysis of casebooks permits a discussion of incidents of conflict, accommodation, and cooperation between patients and asylum authorities. Secondly,
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