Dissertation Structure The Thin Line between Sanity and Insanity Insanity/Sanity: The Individuals Choice Mental Illness:

In the Eye of the Beholder

Unpick what Insanity/Sanity is the thin line between the two binary oppositions

Insanity/Sanity
The idea that mental illness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder
Every action seems abnormal when the reasoning/logic behind it is absent
Introduction
(900 words) Introducing the assignment and the individual chapter topics 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Introduce what this assignment seeks to find out include relevant quote Introduce what chapter 1 is exploring Introduce what chapter 2 is exploring Introduce what chapter 3 is exploring Introduce what chapter 4 is exploring

Chapter 1 A Brief History of Madness

(1500 words)

1. Definition of the term Madness/Insanity/Craziness Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein 2. Definition of the term mental illness 3. Where did mental illness originate as a term 4. Social Acknowledgment of Mental illness Romanticism Era 5. Social Acknowledgment of Mental illness 19th Century 6. Social Acknowledgment of Mental illness 20th Century 7. Social Acknowledgment of Mental illness Present contemporary spectrum: are people being diagnosed wrongly? Too quick to judge arguing what is really meant by the term mental illness

Chapter 2 Deconstruction
(1500 words)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Madness as an unstable term The term deconstruction - Derrida Binary oppositions Social views on mental illness Stigmatizing/Stereotyping the idea that mental illness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder - ... that the difference between a normal and a stigmatised person was a question of perspective, not reality. Stigma (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder, and a body of evidence supports the concept of stereotypes of mental illness ... (Byrne 2000) Taking this into consideration the idea of mental illness and the stigma behind it relies on an individual perspective, therefore questioning societies classification of who is psychologically unstable 5. Mental illness Vs conformity 6. Innovative outlook Ron Schraiber (i) ... Clients deserve the same basic rights as any other human being ... our human rights should not end where our psychiatric diagnosis begins. (ii) ... just because normal people started World War I, World War II, dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and committed genocide against the native Americans, and instituted slavery. I have nothing against normal people, but I wouldnt want my daughter to marry one ... This fresh take upon the ignorance of the stigma is intriguing 7. How through time societys interpretation upon what is considered madness has changed Female Hysteria and Homosexuality

Chapter 3 Case Studies

(2400 words)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Introduction into Female Hysteria basic and factual Early history perception 19th Century perception 20th Century perception Evaluate how the perceptions changed over time Explain how social acceptance/conforming ideas has transformed the topic from a mental illness to the norm Introduction into Homosexuality basic and factual 1960s perception Present perception Anomie theory Change in perspective? Mental illness Vs conformity the idea that through the years being homosexual has become more widely socially accepted Counter argument that homophobic behavouir is still a current issue

13. Finalise argument homosexuality is no longer classified/perceived to be a mental illness, yet is not universally accepted at present

Chapter 4 Films
(2400 words)

Exploring Insanity/Sanity of the protagonist Cultural impact Conformity Vs mental illness The idea that a mental asylum will make you insane 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Introduction - synopsis - One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest (1975) Explore the protagonist sane/insane The power balance between patients and nurses/psychiatrists Those who are committed Vs voluntary Arguing that being in a mental institution makes you insane Making Of - Actors using Stanislavskys Method Acting experiencing alienating sense of reality Introduction - synopsis Girl, Interrupted (1999) Explore the protagonist sane/insane The power balance between patients and nurses/psychiatrists/fellow patients Societys values whos sane/insane Daisy as reference (potentially the most mentally afflicted, yet as shes rich and confesses to the abnormal behavioral patterns is allowed out) Mental illness Vs Conformity Psychiatrists - why do they have the final say when a patient is being diagnosed sane/insane who are they to judge linking to the eye of the beholder concept Comparing the two films representation of the protagonist thin line between which side of sanity they fall upon society vs conformity Comparing the two films the choice to be sane/insane?

10. 11. 12.

Conclusion
(900 words) Summarise the assignments chapters and concluding findings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Conclude what chapter 1 is portrayed Conclude what chapter 2 is portrayed Conclude what chapter 3 is portrayed Conclude what chapter 4 is portrayed Concluding paragraph for assignment