The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing would be delighted to have you attend this workshop, which explores the challenges of writing about the experience and interpretation of madness and mental illness in history. The workshop aims to give scholars who work in this area a chance to connect in an informal context and encounter different perspectives and approaches. Emphasising themes and sources related to identity, selfhood and life-writing, the workshop will open with a number of short presentations by researchers who will discuss how they have navigated the conceptual and methodological challenges of writing about the history of mental illness. The panel discussion will raise a range of critical issues and perspectives (social, cultural, religious and medical), followed by a more general discussion, for which we warmly invite participation from all attendees. The session will be held at Wolfson College in Seminar Room 2, from 9:30 to 11:00 am on Thursday, 29th November. Refreshments will be served from 9:15 am.