reasie's review against another edition
3.0
Considered a seminal work on the subject and an influence in the deinstitutionalization of America’s mentally ill.
The first ‘essay’ of the four that make up the book was the hardest to get through, because the author tries to define ‘total institutions’ as a class, using a wide range of examples from mental hospitals to concentration camps and prisons and monestaries and naval vessels. The other three essays deal almost exclusively with mental hospitals and felt stronger for it, particularly when the author drew on his own experience in one particular state hospital.
Wow, man. 1960 was a different world. Racially segregated wards. People hospitalized for homosexuality! As an illness! The hell?
So… by turns drearily academic and historically fascinating (and horrifying.)
The first ‘essay’ of the four that make up the book was the hardest to get through, because the author tries to define ‘total institutions’ as a class, using a wide range of examples from mental hospitals to concentration camps and prisons and monestaries and naval vessels. The other three essays deal almost exclusively with mental hospitals and felt stronger for it, particularly when the author drew on his own experience in one particular state hospital.
Wow, man. 1960 was a different world. Racially segregated wards. People hospitalized for homosexuality! As an illness! The hell?
So… by turns drearily academic and historically fascinating (and horrifying.)
butchriarchy's review against another edition
5.0
A very incisive look into the dehumanizing conditions of institutions, particularly mental hospitals. This is an old text but having been in a psych ward in the 21st century I can pretty much say "Yeah" to a lot of what this guy observed. One observation that is still in my mind is his assertion that mental patients are committed not because of mental illness but because of "contingencies," such as crises within the family or workplace. I also really liked his remarks on the fragmentation of the self, how the mental patient perceives themself in relation to what the institution forces and expects of them, how their surroundings and their parameters influence their perceptions and feelings. There's also a lot of implications that behaviors associated with "psychosis," for example," are really reactions to being contained in a regimented facility with little freedom.
It was a little tedious but I'm guessing that's due to my little experience with reading sociological texts. Otherwise it's a very good assessment of the nature of institutions and how they make their mark on the individual, especially mental patients. It was also hard to understand but I think I got the gist of what he was trying to get at. I'd say it's still a relevant text if you want to get a look at how psych hospitals are devastating to one's identity and place in society. The first part of the text is a good argument for abolition of the institution in general, particularly prisons.
It was a little tedious but I'm guessing that's due to my little experience with reading sociological texts. Otherwise it's a very good assessment of the nature of institutions and how they make their mark on the individual, especially mental patients. It was also hard to understand but I think I got the gist of what he was trying to get at. I'd say it's still a relevant text if you want to get a look at how psych hospitals are devastating to one's identity and place in society. The first part of the text is a good argument for abolition of the institution in general, particularly prisons.
emilyclairem's review against another edition
4.0
I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I knew I would appreciate it as a historical text, one that had such an impact on the deinstitutionalization movement and a key example of the thoughts on mental illness at the time. But I found his writing style quite enjoyable, especially considering that it's a study on such a serious matter. He writes in a very clear, intelligible way and even difficult concepts were made easy to understand. I did think there were perhaps too many examples, particularly in the first essays, but those were easy enough to skim over. I also would have liked some kind of final synthesis of the four essays since they were a bit disjointed, but as it is a collection of essays I suppose that comes with the territory. I also would have liked more examples from his experience doing field work in an institution - though surely most of his arguments stem from that, I expected more direct evidence from his time spent there, particularly direct quotes from patients. The lack of this latter point was a big oversight, in my opinion.
I don't agree with Goffman's overall message that mental illness is largely socially constructed, particularly constructed by asylums. That mass deinstitutionalization occurred and mental illness still persists is proof that his theory is not entirely sound, though of course he wouldn't have known that at the time unless he had a time machine. So I expected to disagree with most of what he said, but I was actually swayed by a lot of it. I am of the opinion that institutions have the potential to be very untherapeutic, damaging places, so his explanations of why they're this way was very interesting and convincing. However, like I said, where it drifted into the area of "and thus institutions create mental illness," I was not as persuaded by (though I certainly agree that institutions can exacerbate certain symptoms and thoughts).
I don't agree with Goffman's overall message that mental illness is largely socially constructed, particularly constructed by asylums. That mass deinstitutionalization occurred and mental illness still persists is proof that his theory is not entirely sound, though of course he wouldn't have known that at the time unless he had a time machine. So I expected to disagree with most of what he said, but I was actually swayed by a lot of it. I am of the opinion that institutions have the potential to be very untherapeutic, damaging places, so his explanations of why they're this way was very interesting and convincing. However, like I said, where it drifted into the area of "and thus institutions create mental illness," I was not as persuaded by (though I certainly agree that institutions can exacerbate certain symptoms and thoughts).
goldandsalt's review
3.0
Nicely written. An easy read for theory. I like the micro-level focus and his use of ethnography, but overall not particularly useful for my work.
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