Literature and Mental Health

Does art cure our anxieties or exacerbate them? This reading group explores transforming literary representations of mental health and engages critically with the therapeutic (or non-therapeutic) role of the arts. We aim to bring together a small cohesive cross-period group from a variety of interdisciplinary fields to consider the relationship between literature and forms of mental illness. Drawing from a variety of literary texts (as well as films and paintings!), we discuss how writing both cures and invites forms of madness, what one might mean when one says that a work is ‘intense’ or ‘depressing’, and how a genre’s distinctive formal features represent the inner workings of the mind.
We believe that our critical engagement with representations of mental health in literature can help us understand the role of arts in a world of self-help books and bibliotherapy. As discussions about mental health make their way into the mainstream, we are interested in how literature interacts with social and historical conceptions of mental illness.
Webpage: english.web.ox.ac.uk/reading-group-literature-and-mental-health
Reading list: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u3IaqwXUPyeOKKQ0oznFdeMODLlTw35g
Type: Seminar Series
Series organisers: Madhurima Sen, Heeyeon Kim
Timing: Thursdays 2 PM onwards
Organising department: Faculty of English Language and Literature

Talks:

Thursday 16 May 2024 (4th Week, Trinity Term)

Literature and Mental Health: Reading Group Session 2
Date: 16 May 2024, 14:00 - 16:00 (Thursday, 4th week, Trinity 2024)
Speaker
Venue: St Cross Building, St Cross Road OX1 3UR
Venue Details: Seminar Room A, Faculty of English
Organisers: Madhurima Sen, Heeyon Kim
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 30 May 2024 (6th Week, Trinity Term)

Literature and Mental Health: Reading Group Session 3
Date: 30 May 2024, 14:00 - 16:00 (Thursday, 6th week, Trinity 2024)
Speaker
Venue: St Cross Building, St Cross Road OX1 3UR
Venue Details: Seminar Room A, Faculty of English
Organisers: Madhurima Sen, Heeyon Kim
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 13 June 2024 (8th Week, Trinity Term)

Literature and Mental Health: Reading Group Session 4
Date: 13 June 2024, 14:00 - 16:00 (Thursday, 8th week, Trinity 2024)
Speaker
Venue: St Cross Building, St Cross Road OX1 3UR
Venue Details: Seminar Room A, Faculty of English
Organisers: Heeyeon Kim, Madhurima Sen
Hosts: TBA

Editor: Madhurima Sen