The Passion of Ansel Bourne: Multiple Personality in American Culture
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Book Overview
Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0874745691
ISBN13:9780874745696
Release Date:November 1986
Publisher:Smithsonian Books (DC)
Length:258 Pages
Weight:0.85 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 6.2" x 9.2"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
wonderful scholarly treatment of MPD in American history
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Dissociative Identity Disorder (aka Multiple Personality Disorder) is one of the most controversial diagnoses in modern psychiatry. Many authors focus on contemporary manifestations of the phenomenon and the horrific conditions which give birth to it. Other authors argue that DID/MPD is an iatrogenic (doctor-created) diagnosis and the psychiatric equivalent of the "flavor of the month." Kenny's book is unique in its scholarly perspective. It combines anthropology, history, and pyschology to paint a picture of how MPD is understood and shaped by cultural factors. The ability to dissociate seems to be a basic human universal (just look at the anthropological literature concerning shamanism and possession), but the meaning given to the phenomenon must be understood within the specific cultural context. Kenny's book points to how dissociative phenomena reflect dichotomies and issues in 19th century American society. This book is not designed to help those currently suffering from dissociative disorders, but it does make a major contribution to our understanding of issue.
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