Pierre Bourdieu’s works have traditionally been interpreted as determinist (Jenkins 1982) or even mechanist (Evens 1999). This reading shows its inconsistency when Bourdieu’s concepts are diachronically put in motion, letting changes and crises in different fields of practice emerge (Boyer 2003). Mental health systems have proven suitable for a dynamic application of Bourdieu’s field theory due to the conflictual process characterising their historical development (Crossley 2004; Manning 2010; Doblyte 2019). The Italian mental health system developed in the early 1900s when law 36/1904 harmonised the asylum system (Anfosso 1905; Canosa 1979; De Vito 2014). The principle of custody, at the base of asylum practices, began to be challenged in the ‘60s as a community-based treatment approach developed (Grob 2011; Foot 2014; Ferracuti et al. 2019). The key figure of this season was Franco Basaglia who inspired law 180/1978 on the deinstitutionalization of the Italian mental health system and whose stances still seem to influence new dispositions in this sector (Pullia 2009; Bellinvia 2014; Cardano and Gariglio 2020). The paper aims to employ Bourdieu’s field theory to reconstruct the process of change within the Italian mental health system. In particular, we focus on the reversal of positions within the psychiatric field that occurred in 1978, to enlighten over the conditions and effects of this deep change. The paper offers a morphological study of the Italian mental health field and its internal struggles. Analysing the phases of the field's change that translated into normative innovations (law 36/1904; law 180/1978; law 81/2014), we hold the process that led to the 1978 change as a phase of symbolic revolution in the field (Bourdieu 2000). Framing Basaglia as the main innovator of this season, we analyse his works (1968, 1973, 1975, 1984) and secondary literature about this period (Anfosso 1905; Castel 1975; Canosa 1979; Babini 2011; Foot 2014; Pulino 2017), drawing a parallel with Bourdieu’s works on Flaubert and Manet (1992; 2013). Furthermore, widening our gaze to the early moment of the institutionalisation of the field (law 36/1904) and its latest normative innovation (law 81/2014), the paper analyses this field’s change in the light of its historical premises and long-term consequences. The paper demonstrates the long temporality of the symbolic revolution animated by Basaglia. In noting the effects of this change over time, also affecting cultural visions related to the treatment of mental illness, we propose to consider Basaglia's symbolic revolution as a passive revolution (Gramsci 1977). Also, this work sheds light on the relation between the change of symbolic hierarchies within the psychiatric care system and the socio-political transformations that characterise Italy's contemporary history, restating the tie between psychiatry and politics (Castel 1975; Basaglia 1968; Scheper-Hughes and Lovell, 1986). Finally, the paper reaffirms the holistic view inscribed in Bourdieu's theory, recognising, along with the competition between dominant and dominated positions in the field, their translation into the grassroots practices (e.g. the rejection of mechanical restraint of users in psychiatric facilities after 1978).
Dall’eresia alla rivoluzione. Una lettura bourdieusiana dell’impatto di Franco Basaglia sulla psichiatria italiana.
Riccardo Girolimetto
;Andrea Calabretta
2024
Abstract
Pierre Bourdieu’s works have traditionally been interpreted as determinist (Jenkins 1982) or even mechanist (Evens 1999). This reading shows its inconsistency when Bourdieu’s concepts are diachronically put in motion, letting changes and crises in different fields of practice emerge (Boyer 2003). Mental health systems have proven suitable for a dynamic application of Bourdieu’s field theory due to the conflictual process characterising their historical development (Crossley 2004; Manning 2010; Doblyte 2019). The Italian mental health system developed in the early 1900s when law 36/1904 harmonised the asylum system (Anfosso 1905; Canosa 1979; De Vito 2014). The principle of custody, at the base of asylum practices, began to be challenged in the ‘60s as a community-based treatment approach developed (Grob 2011; Foot 2014; Ferracuti et al. 2019). The key figure of this season was Franco Basaglia who inspired law 180/1978 on the deinstitutionalization of the Italian mental health system and whose stances still seem to influence new dispositions in this sector (Pullia 2009; Bellinvia 2014; Cardano and Gariglio 2020). The paper aims to employ Bourdieu’s field theory to reconstruct the process of change within the Italian mental health system. In particular, we focus on the reversal of positions within the psychiatric field that occurred in 1978, to enlighten over the conditions and effects of this deep change. The paper offers a morphological study of the Italian mental health field and its internal struggles. Analysing the phases of the field's change that translated into normative innovations (law 36/1904; law 180/1978; law 81/2014), we hold the process that led to the 1978 change as a phase of symbolic revolution in the field (Bourdieu 2000). Framing Basaglia as the main innovator of this season, we analyse his works (1968, 1973, 1975, 1984) and secondary literature about this period (Anfosso 1905; Castel 1975; Canosa 1979; Babini 2011; Foot 2014; Pulino 2017), drawing a parallel with Bourdieu’s works on Flaubert and Manet (1992; 2013). Furthermore, widening our gaze to the early moment of the institutionalisation of the field (law 36/1904) and its latest normative innovation (law 81/2014), the paper analyses this field’s change in the light of its historical premises and long-term consequences. The paper demonstrates the long temporality of the symbolic revolution animated by Basaglia. In noting the effects of this change over time, also affecting cultural visions related to the treatment of mental illness, we propose to consider Basaglia's symbolic revolution as a passive revolution (Gramsci 1977). Also, this work sheds light on the relation between the change of symbolic hierarchies within the psychiatric care system and the socio-political transformations that characterise Italy's contemporary history, restating the tie between psychiatry and politics (Castel 1975; Basaglia 1968; Scheper-Hughes and Lovell, 1986). Finally, the paper reaffirms the holistic view inscribed in Bourdieu's theory, recognising, along with the competition between dominant and dominated positions in the field, their translation into the grassroots practices (e.g. the rejection of mechanical restraint of users in psychiatric facilities after 1978).Pubblicazioni consigliate
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