Books by Dr. Alison Watts
Chapter in Moms Gone Mad: Motherhood and Madness, Oppression and Resistance
Conference Presentations by Dr. Alison Watts
""Puerperal insanity, was a term used extensively throughout the 19th century and generally is un... more ""Puerperal insanity, was a term used extensively throughout the 19th century and generally is understood as the suffering of mental illness following childbirth. Marland (2004) argues that puerperal insanity was in decline as a diagnosis in the twentieth century. However, my investigation of 30 female mental patient files from Victoria between 1920-1934 reveals that a small but significant number of post birthing women were still committed with puerperal insanity at this time.
Cases of puerperal insanity violate twentieth century ideals of motherhood. Yet the medical definition of puerperal insanity, lack of treatment and the public discourses of what constitutes the ‘good mother’ from the 1930s ignore family power relations, social conditions and the material realities of mothering in this era. These issues are consistent with Showalter’s conclusion, who states that ‘the psychiatric definition of puerperal insanity ignored the social problems of motherhood: 'unmarried, abused and destitute mothers and the shocks, adjustments, and psychological traumas of the maternal role’ (1985).
The patient histories under examination in this work reflect the gendered discourse of the medical authorities of the early twentieth century who supported, at times, the unrealistic social expectations of mothers of that era. While there has been extensive research into the history of women’s madness, this paper examines the treatment of women who were moved from one institution (the family) to another, that of the mental institution interrupting their motherhood.""
Thesis by Dr. Alison Watts
This thesis examines the diagnosis ‘puerperal insanity’ and childbirth related illnesses in earl... more This thesis examines the diagnosis ‘puerperal insanity’ and childbirth related illnesses in early twentieth-century Australia. It investigates the psychiatric and social discourses that linked motherhood and birthing with mental illness. The clinical case notes of thirty-one patients, including a member of the researcher’s family, Ada (pseudonym), who were committed to Royal Melbourne Reception House, Victoria, between the years 1920 to 1936 are examined. This thesis illustrates that Australian women continued to be caught in nineteenth-century gendered power relations in both the patriarchal nature of families, psychiatry and medicine. It argues that maternal insanity should be understood as directly linked to cultural beliefs about the home, family and the mother role.
Papers by Dr. Alison Watts
Genealogy
This work investigates my family’s long-held secrets that concealed the whereabouts of my grandmo... more This work investigates my family’s long-held secrets that concealed the whereabouts of my grandmother. After years of estrangement, my father discovered Ada living in a mental hospital. Memories are rarely straightforward and could only take us so far in understanding why Ada remained missing from our family for so long. My search for answers involved genealogical research and led me to access Ada’s mental patient files. This rich data source provided some troubling glimpses into Ada’s auditory hallucinations and grandiose delusions and her encounters with several mental institutions in Victoria, Australia, during the twentieth century. Critical family history approaches allow me to gain insights into the gendered power relations within her marriage and the power imbalance within families. The theme of migration is addressed through the lens of mobility when Ada relocated following her marriage and her movement between home on trial leave and several sites of care after her committa...
The online learning environment can be a daunting prospect for many first-year students new to un... more The online learning environment can be a daunting prospect for many first-year students new to university systems and culture. The vast arrays of information available in a university’s website, whether unit-specific content via the blackboard or the university’s library catalogue, are among the many online spaces that students are expected to master. This paper describes an online orientation exercise, The Treasure Hunt, that students complete as their first assignment in a large, common, first-year core unit. The Treasure Hunt is an online tool that has a dual purpose. Firstly, students progress through a five-step quiz that orients them to finding specific information within the university website; and secondly, it allows teaching staff to assess the level of each student’s engagement with the University’s online environment and early identification of ‘at risk’ students. The unit, Communication in Organisations, is delivered across ten locations including online and transnationa...
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Books by Dr. Alison Watts
Conference Presentations by Dr. Alison Watts
Cases of puerperal insanity violate twentieth century ideals of motherhood. Yet the medical definition of puerperal insanity, lack of treatment and the public discourses of what constitutes the ‘good mother’ from the 1930s ignore family power relations, social conditions and the material realities of mothering in this era. These issues are consistent with Showalter’s conclusion, who states that ‘the psychiatric definition of puerperal insanity ignored the social problems of motherhood: 'unmarried, abused and destitute mothers and the shocks, adjustments, and psychological traumas of the maternal role’ (1985).
The patient histories under examination in this work reflect the gendered discourse of the medical authorities of the early twentieth century who supported, at times, the unrealistic social expectations of mothers of that era. While there has been extensive research into the history of women’s madness, this paper examines the treatment of women who were moved from one institution (the family) to another, that of the mental institution interrupting their motherhood.""
Thesis by Dr. Alison Watts
Papers by Dr. Alison Watts
Cases of puerperal insanity violate twentieth century ideals of motherhood. Yet the medical definition of puerperal insanity, lack of treatment and the public discourses of what constitutes the ‘good mother’ from the 1930s ignore family power relations, social conditions and the material realities of mothering in this era. These issues are consistent with Showalter’s conclusion, who states that ‘the psychiatric definition of puerperal insanity ignored the social problems of motherhood: 'unmarried, abused and destitute mothers and the shocks, adjustments, and psychological traumas of the maternal role’ (1985).
The patient histories under examination in this work reflect the gendered discourse of the medical authorities of the early twentieth century who supported, at times, the unrealistic social expectations of mothers of that era. While there has been extensive research into the history of women’s madness, this paper examines the treatment of women who were moved from one institution (the family) to another, that of the mental institution interrupting their motherhood.""