Bipolar Expeditions

Mania and Depression in American Culture

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Health & Well Being, Psychology
Cover of the book Bipolar Expeditions by Emily Martin, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Emily Martin ISBN: 9781400829590
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: January 19, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Emily Martin
ISBN: 9781400829590
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: January 19, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Manic behavior holds an undeniable fascination in American culture today. It fuels the plots of best-selling novels and the imagery of MTV videos, is acknowledged as the driving force for successful entrepreneurs like Ted Turner, and is celebrated as the source of the creativity of artists like Vincent Van Gogh and movie stars like Robin Williams. Bipolar Expeditions seeks to understand mania's appeal and how it weighs on the lives of Americans diagnosed with manic depression.

Anthropologist Emily Martin guides us into the fascinating and sometimes disturbing worlds of mental-health support groups, mood charts, psychiatric rounds, the pharmaceutical industry, and psychotropic drugs. Charting how these worlds intersect with the wider popular culture, she reveals how people living under the description of bipolar disorder are often denied the status of being fully human, even while contemporary America exhibits a powerful affinity for manic behavior. Mania, Martin shows, has come to be regarded as a distant frontier that invites exploration because it seems to offer fame and profits to pioneers, while depression is imagined as something that should be eliminated altogether with the help of drugs.

Bipolar Expeditions argues that mania and depression have a cultural life outside the confines of diagnosis, that the experiences of people living with bipolar disorder belong fully to the human condition, and that even the most so-called rational everyday practices are intertwined with irrational ones. Martin's own experience with bipolar disorder informs her analysis and lends a personal perspective to this complex story.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Manic behavior holds an undeniable fascination in American culture today. It fuels the plots of best-selling novels and the imagery of MTV videos, is acknowledged as the driving force for successful entrepreneurs like Ted Turner, and is celebrated as the source of the creativity of artists like Vincent Van Gogh and movie stars like Robin Williams. Bipolar Expeditions seeks to understand mania's appeal and how it weighs on the lives of Americans diagnosed with manic depression.

Anthropologist Emily Martin guides us into the fascinating and sometimes disturbing worlds of mental-health support groups, mood charts, psychiatric rounds, the pharmaceutical industry, and psychotropic drugs. Charting how these worlds intersect with the wider popular culture, she reveals how people living under the description of bipolar disorder are often denied the status of being fully human, even while contemporary America exhibits a powerful affinity for manic behavior. Mania, Martin shows, has come to be regarded as a distant frontier that invites exploration because it seems to offer fame and profits to pioneers, while depression is imagined as something that should be eliminated altogether with the help of drugs.

Bipolar Expeditions argues that mania and depression have a cultural life outside the confines of diagnosis, that the experiences of people living with bipolar disorder belong fully to the human condition, and that even the most so-called rational everyday practices are intertwined with irrational ones. Martin's own experience with bipolar disorder informs her analysis and lends a personal perspective to this complex story.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Art of Bible Translation by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Buddhism in Practice by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Reinventing Discovery by Emily Martin
Cover of the book The Politics of Precaution by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Unrivalled Influence by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Depression in Japan by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Multiculturalism by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Kingdom of Children by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Reading Cy Twombly by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Financing the American Dream by Emily Martin
Cover of the book The Quotable Jung by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 7 by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Art of the Deal by Emily Martin
Cover of the book Enhancing Evolution by Emily Martin
Cover of the book The China Diary of George H. W. Bush by Emily Martin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy