Melancholia

Melancholia is a commonly experienced feeling, and one with a long and fascinating medical history which can be charted back to antiquity. Avoiding the simplistic binary opposition of constructivism and hard realism, this book argues that melancholia was a culture-bound syndrome which thrived in the West because of the structure of Western medicine since the Ancient Greeks, and because of the West's fascination with self-consciousness. While melancholia cannot be equated with modern depression, Matthew Bell argues that concepts from recent depression research can shed light on melancholia. Within a broad historical panorama, Bell focuses on ancient medical writing, especially the little-known but pivotal Rufus of Ephesus, and on the medicine and culture of early modern Europe. Separate chapters are dedicated to issues of gender and cultural difference, and the final chapter offers a survey of melancholia in the arts, explaining the prominence of melancholia - especially in literature.

Author: Matthew Bell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 12/01/2016
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.48d
ISBN: 9781107641792

About the Author

Christine M. Egger, DVM, MVSc, CVH, CVA, Diplomate ACVAA, is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.

Lydia Love, DVM, Diplomate ACVAA, practices anesthesia and pain management at Animal Emergency and Referral Associates in Fairfield, New Jersey, USA.

Tom Doherty, MVB, MSc, Diplomate ACVAA, is a Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.