32 pages 1 hour read

David L. Rosenhan

On Being Sane in Insane Places

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1973

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Essay Topics

1.

Analyze the implications of the text’s title and its relation to the central argument. In what ways does the title frame the reader’s understanding of the text’s exploration of mental health categories?

2.

Explore the narrative technique of embedding a study within a story, as used in the text. How does this metatextual approach affect the reader’s understanding of the reliability of psychiatric evaluations?

3.

How does the author’s critique of the psychiatric system align with Michel Foucault’s theory of power and knowledge, particularly in terms of how power relations are manifested within the institutional practices of diagnosing mental illness?