Meet CCHS researcher Elisabeth Punzi, psychologist
Elisabeth Punzi is a clinical psychologist, and senior lecturer in psychology at the Department of Social Work. She is also active at the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies (CCHS) and has for many years also been a member of the Heritage Academy's collaboration group.
Within CCHS, Elisabeth Punzi works with the cultural heritage of psychiatry, cultural activities in psychiatry and psychotherapy and Mad studies as well as with questions about the cultural heritage of minorities, where she for example focused on Jewish cultural heritage in Sweden, the connection between psychoanalysis and Judaism and how cultural heritage can become part of social work with children and young people with a migration background and thereby contribute to integration and well-being.
Elisabeth, please tell us about your work at the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies?
I am now involved in three areas. The first concerns Jewish cultural heritage in Sweden. Me and other colleagues at the university collaborate with the Jewish congregation in Gothenburg. It is all about researchers, cultural heritage bearers and museum and cultural workers meeting, learning from each other, and spreading knowledge. For example, we arrange events together with Mölndal's city museum and work with a podcast about Jewish cultural heritage in Sweden.
The second area deals with the cultural heritage of psychoanalysis, not least how psychoanalysis can be understood in light of the fact that Sigmund Freud, and a considerable part of the other early psychoanalysts were Jews. The Jewish cultural heritage, as well as the prevailing anti-Semitic climate, influenced the development of psychoanalysis. In addition, I examine connections between psychoanalysis and literature and the recognition of queer lives and identities that existed and exists within psychoanalysis.
Finally, I am interested in the cultural heritage of psychiatry, both buildings and objects, but above all memories and stories from those who were admitted to the old institutions. I approach memories and stories from a Mad studies perspective and call it Mad heritage. Here I have had the privilege of collaborating with Geoffrey Reaume, who was a visiting researcher at CCHS and who co-founded Mad studies. I also think it is important to think about what we can learn from history and from patients' cultural heritage, including creative expressions from patients.
What does it give you as a researcher to be part of the centre's formation?
I would say that it gives me inspiration. You meet people who do so many interesting things and know so much and suddenly you discover that there are common areas. In other cases, one discovers that there should be common areas, and so they establish it. You get to collaborate with researchers from different disciplines but also with users and those who are active in associations, museums and other things and it gives so much.
The work also becomes concrete and thus very rewarding. Cultural heritage can be difficult to explain and grasp, but through collaborations you see that cultural heritage is so much and is everywhere and among everyone, even if you don't think of it as cultural heritage.
Interview by: Jenny Högström Berntson
