How do you collectively abolish an institution without reproducing the violence that you sought to dismantle it? What institutions need to be created for old ones to be abolished? Drawing from first-hand experiences of front-line mental healthcare work and the theories and practices of institutional psychotherapy, this talk will address the current of abolitionist activism that confronts the violence of mental healthcare in the UK and the US. While the evidence of the harm produced by psychiatric treatments makes the call for abolition increasingly more prescient, few accessible alternatives have been offered. This talk will look to synthesize historic therapeutic alternatives to carceral psychiatric treatment with current steams of mad activism of psychiatric survivors to think through how - and indeed if - psychiatric abolition can be brought about. Ultimately, this talk will seek to develop a framework derived from critical humanities, disability studies, and psychological studies research for a boundary approach to abolition.
Sponsored by the Abolitionist Epistemologies Working Group. A reception with light refreshments will follow. This in-person event is free and open to the public.
Dr. Anthony Faramelli is a lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths University of London. He is a psychosocial researcher and practitioner whose work is grounded in issues of coloniality and the theories and practices of institutional analysis. His current research projects examine digital cultures and the Alt-Right, psychotherapy's aesthetics practices, and the resistant networks formed by Latin American diasporic communities.
The Humanities Institute and its related centers host a wide range of events, from intense discussions of works in progress to cutting-edge presentations from world-known scholars, artists, activists and everything in between.
We value in-person engagement at our events as we strive to amplify the energy in the room. But we also recognize the fact that not all our guests will be able to visit our space. Zoom access will be available to this event upon request. If you wish to have such access, or you would like to request other accommodations for this event, please send your request to Connor Behm: behm.42@osu.edu.
