Presenting: The Archives of False Prophets: Delusional Worldmaking in a West African Psychiatric Hospital
Nana Osei Quarshie is Assistant Professor at the Program in the History of Science and Medicine at Yale University. His current research examines the place of psychiatric care in processes of social stratification and in the production of national, regional, and ethnic diversity in West Africa. His first book manuscript, An African Pharmakon, brings together a history of urban social control, psychiatric care, and changing patterns in regional migration to Ghana. This research has been supported by the Social Science Research Council and the French National Research Agency, among others. Quarshie received his doctorate in 2020 from the Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History at the University of Michigan. At Yale, he teaches courses on the global history of psychiatry and confinement, African systems of thought, and on historical methods beyond the archive.
Discussant: Jesse Weaver Shipley (Dartmouth College)
A week in advance, the presenter’s paper will be circulated through the Harvard African Studies Workshop listserv. It is assumed that everyone has read the paper before the workshop. After presentation and commentary, Workshop attendees are invited to engage in critique and discussion, under the moderation of the Workshop Chairs.
View workshop recordings here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/2369529
ORGANIZER(S): Harvard University Center for African Studies
EVENT WEBSITE: https://africa.harvard.edu/african-studies-workshop-0