Module manager: Michael Finn
Email: M.Finn@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is approved as a discovery module
Many of us have been personally affected by mental illness, and even if not, ideas and practices from psychiatry constantly shape the way we see ourselves and the people around us through the language and concepts we use. The history of psychiatry is therefore significant, but surprisingly short. Over the last 250 years, explanations and treatments for mental illnesses have arisen and changed drastically and frequently. From the rise and fall of asylums as an institutional response to mental illness, to the development of psychotherapy, psychosurgery and psychopharmaceuticals, psychiatry presents us with a mixed but important legacy in our modern world. In this module you will survey developments from the late 18th century to the present day, and explore the ways theories and therapies have been a part of broader philosophical, cultural, political, economic and social debates. You will investigate how changes in psychiatry have affected the lives of those deemed to be mentally ill, and how they can inform our understanding of contemporary problems related to mental health. This module does not require a background knowledge of history or psychiatry.
This module has three main objectives. Firstly, that you will examine key theories and practices in the evolution of psychiatric medicine on their own terms, and explore how these were a significant part of public policy and broader debates about philosophy, economics and society over the past 250 years. Secondly, that you will discover and respond to a range of primary and secondary authors, and develop experience in appraising, questioning and clarifying developments in the history of mental illness and psychiatry. And thirdly, that you will explore the practical, theoretical and ethical criticisms made against psychiatry, and recognise the role that history can have in informing or even changing our modern understanding of mental illness.
Lectures will outline key ideas, practices, contexts and critiques, and discuss different frameworks for analysing the causes and consequences of different psychiatric approaches. In preparing for, and then participating in seminars, you will read and debate historical sources that offer further detail and insight, and encourage you to question, criticise and compare different perspectives on the history of psychiatry and mental illness.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
LO1: Articulate the changing nature and purpose of psychiatric theories and practices in the past two centuries
LO2: Identify the relationship between conceptual changes to psychiatric understanding and the way mental illness has been recognised, stigmatised and treated
LO3: Critically analyse and interpret historical and contemporary debates about psychiatry and mental illness from broad range of sources
LO4: Formulate a coherent historical account of key institutions, individuals, technologies and therapies relating to psychiatry and mental illness
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
LO5: Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)
LO6: Undertake independent research to identify, evaluate and synthesise relevant material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work-Ready, Digital skill)
An understanding of the way medical knowledge and techniques are contingent and socially embedded, and how they can be uncovered through methodological approaches of historians and philosophers of science, technology and medicine.
Topics may vary but indicative topics include: The birth of the asylum; psychiatry and the Law; 19th-century research and classification; Victorian fears of degeneration; Shell-Shock and WWI; the era of invasive physical treatments; antipsychiatry and the counterculture; deinstitutionalisation and care in the community; the rise of psychiatric drugs; problems with contemporary diagnosis.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
On return of marks for the mid-module summative assessment, a critique, feedback will be provided which monitors progress and helps prepare students for the second, project assessment.
In addition to this, in preparation for the second summative assessment, a project, students are invited to submit a formative plan, based on one project title from the list provided.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Project | 70 |
| Critique | Critique | 30 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits for both pieces of coursework will be by the same methodology as the original attempt. Students resitting the critique must select a different question from the list provided for the original attempt. Students resitting the project must select a different title from the list provided for the original attempt.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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