Guest researcher Geoffrey Reaume to CCHS/Heritage and Wellbeing

- For this year the focus for the Heritage and Wellbeing cluster will be on further establishing Heritage of psychiatry and Mad heritage as research fields that hold academic value as well as important societal impact for users and ex-users of psychiatry and clinicians, says Elisabeth Punzi. Academic projects as well as seminars and workshops concerning the Heritage of psychiatry and Mad heritage will be arranged in close collaboration with users of psychiatry. In line with this we have invited Geoffrey Reaume, associate professor, York University, Canada as a guest researcher in February. Reaume will hold open lectures and a workshops concerning remembrance of patients of psychiatry. He will also contribute to the new course Health as power, practice and cultural heritage.

Geoffrey Reaume is one of the front figures in Mad studies - an interdisciplinary field where clinicians, researchers, ex-patients, users, artists and relatives work together to understand mental distress. Geoffrey is one of the editors of the book "Mad Matters" and has actively worked to bring attention to offenses committed against patients in psychiatry and that traces of patients should be regarded as cultural heritage. On February 18th he will give an open lecture at the Department of Social Work in Gothenburg: Mad People's History, Mad Studies and Critical Heritage Studies.

- We are happy to have him in Gothenburg and look forward to our cooperation, says Punzi.