Traumatic Pasts

Traumatic Pasts, originally published in 2001, offers a variety of perspectives on mental trauma in war, medicine, culture and society in modern European and American history. Its primary goals are: to provide a generous sampling of the best of the historical scholarship about trauma; to indicate the empirical, analytical and methodological scope of this work; and to present some of the conceptual and methodological issues inherent in writing about the subject. The book operates on the premise that the historical humanities have something crucially important to say about trauma; its essays may be read, in part, as attempts to introduce a deep historical dimension into ongoing debates and controversies. However, it is important to stress that these essays are not simply addressed the concerns; rather, they reflect a shared conviction that trauma opens up fresh perspectives in the study of social and cultural history.

ISBN 0521583659   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521583657 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 660 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series editor Rosenberg, Charles, Jones, Colin Format Hardback   Series title Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine Publication date 04 Sep 2001   Height (mm) 228 Library of Congress RC552 .T7 T738 2001   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 616.8521009   Spine width (mm) 22 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Professional / Scholarly Pages 336

		Contributors
		Preface
1		Trauma, Psychiatry, and History: A Conceptual and Historiographical Introduction by Paul Lerner and Mark S. Micale		1
2		The Railway Accident: Trains, Trauma, and Technological Crises in Nineteenth-Century Britain by Ralph Harrington		31
3		Trains and Trauma in the American Gilded Age by Eric Caplan		57
4		Event, Series, Trauma: The Probabilistic Revolution of the Mind in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries by Wolfgang Schaffner		81
5		The German Welfare State as a Discourse of Trauma by Greg A. Eghigian		92
6		Jean-Martin Charcot and les nevroses traumatiques: From Medicine to Culture in French Trauma Theory of the Late Nineteenth Century by Mark S. Micale		115
7		From Traumatic Neurosis to Male Hysteria: The Decline and Fall of Hermann Oppenheim, 1889-1919 by Paul Lerner		140
8		The Construction of Female Sexual Trauma in Turn-of-the-Century American Mental Medicine by Lisa Cardyn		172
9		"Why Are They Not Cured?" British Shellshock Treatment During the Great War by Peter Leese		205
10		Psychiatrists, Soldiers, and Officers in Italy During the Great War by Bruna Bianchi		222
11		A Battle of Nerves: Hysteria and Its Treatments in France During World War I by Marc Roudebush		253
12		Invisible Wounds: The American Legion, Shell-Shocked Veterans, and American Society, 1919-1924 by Caroline Cox		280
		Index		307

Review of the hardback: 'The introductory essay should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the history of trauma within psychiatry. The book represents a successful fusion of cultural history and the history of ideas, and promises to intrigue historians and other readers for many years to come.' Joanna Bourke, History Today Review of the hardback: 'Each of the essays in this collection is a gem.' British Medical Journal Review of the hardback: '... makes for a fascinating read ... there is a depth of analysis that is refreshing ... the introductory essay should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the history of trauma within psychiatry. the book represents a successful fusion of cultural history and the history of ideas, and promises to intrigue historians and other readers for many years to come.' History Today Review of the hardback: '... it succeeds in providing a considerably more nuanced examination of the history of trauma, with an important comparative dimension.' Times Literary Supplement Review of the hardback: ' ... with the publication of Traumatic Pasts the historical study of trauma can be said to have achieved intellectual maturity. ... detailed and thoughful essays add new dimensions to our understanding of trauma, past and present, and provide important guidelines for future research.' History Workshop Journal Review of the hardback: 'In its balanced tone, careful documentation, and attentiveness to gender, class and culture, this ... is a model for scholars of trauma in many disciplines.' German History Review of the hardback: '... an exemplary introduction, in which the intellectual lineage of post-traumatic stress disorder is fully set out.' Social History of Medicine Review of the hardback: ' ... this is a welcome and valuable book which adds significantly to our knowledge.' Medical History Review of the hardback: '... this book represents a good example of the potential of comparative studies to cast fresh light on what may seem a familiar subject. Especially striking are the insights it reveals into the contrasting French and American responses to traumatized soldiers during the First world War.' Annals of Science Review of the hardback: 'The book's primary goals are to provide a generous sample of the best new historical scholarship on trauma; to indicate the empirical, analytical, and methodological scope of this work; and to present some of the conceptual and methodological issues inherent in writing about the subject ... All these goals are achieved in a readable style which ... will appeal to a general readership beyond trauma experts.' German Historical Institute Bulletin

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