S02E08 | On Intake and Insanity: Women's Narratives of Institutionalization

C19: America in the 19th Century

During the rapid rise of psychiatric institutions in the nineteenth century a doctor’s testimony and the signature of a husband, friend, or community leader was enough to institutionalize a woman. This episode explores the intake narratives of two patients-turned-advocates, Elizabeth Packard and Lydia Smith, along with intake paperwork from the Dixmont Hospital for the Insane in Pittsburgh in order to probe issues around patient agency, class-based medical treatment, and women’s rights in marriage. These little-known narratives and archival materials reveal important histories of medicine in the United States. Created by Liana Kathleen Glew. Post-production help from Melissa Gniadek. Episode transcript available here: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/ca9039_4efd19e3d22b4e2a9384e29e65955195.pdf