Colonial Psychiatry and the African Mind

In this history of the practice and theoretical underpinnings of colonial psychiatry in Africa, Jock McCulloch describes the clinical approaches of well-known European psychiatrists who worked directly with indigenous Africans, among them Frantz Fanon, J. C. Carothers and Wulf Sachs. They were a disparate group, operating independently of one another, and mostly in intellectual isolation. But despite their differences, they shared a coherent set of ideas about 'the African mind', premised on the colonial notion of African inferiority. In exploring the close association between the ideologies of settler societies and psychiatric research, this intriguing study is an attempt to explore colonial science as a system of knowledge and power.

"...can be of keen interest to historians, social scientists, and psychiatrists....We must be grateful to McCulloch's historical account for supplying additional insight into present-day African challenges and perplexities." Leonard W. Doob, Yale University, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, "What is wonderful about this book is that it shows the importance of Freudian thought in colonial thinking in the post-World War II era....an enormous contribution to the history of colonial Africa." American Journal of Sociology, "...McCulloch has provided a useful survey showing how a group of scientific practitioners who regarded themselves as objective reproduced the biases of distinctive historical cultures." Jonathan Sadowsky, Isis, "This book is a good read. It makes a contribution to knowledge. McCulloch's conclusions make sense." Harris Chaiklin, Ph.D., The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, "McCulloch has put together an important study which makes a real contribution to the history of African psychiatry." Leland V. Bell, The International Journal of African Historical Studies