Use this space to develop your presentation, share ideas, and post your required research contributions.
Each member must post his two research contributions with MLA citations AND his six meaningful contributions to the presentation.
Hey guys its Don and I will be one of the people being interviewed in the talk show, “Late Night with Labeat”. My character is from the 20th century and I will discuss different famous people who developed mental illnesses. I will also speak about how wartime dramatically affected mental illness in young men that were drafted. I am interested to hear what you think about my ideas and what you guys want to do as well. -DMcAlpin
Awesome idea! I feel as if the talk show will create a lot of opportunities for everyone in our group to be interactive in our presentation. I think a talk show is not only creative but will also keep our classmates interested as well(since its not just a boring lecture). Since you're going to be a person being interviewed on the show, I think we should have others being interviewed as well(Maybe some of the people Paradiso mentioned in his post). I also think we should incorporate some background information about mental illness before we start the talk show(maybe some power points describing mental diseases and how they affect us). Great idea Donald. Let me know what you guys think of how else we can expand on the idea of a talk show!
Im loving this. Its very interesting to know how something like traumatic experiences can cause a mental illness when its not even there. How things like PTSD is an actual condition that can ruin some people and possibly even make some veterans commit suicide because of the horrors of war. Its crazy to think how someone could've been the happiest, sweetest person but war time can make them lose figuratively lose their souls.
Perfect. Since we all decided to go with the talk show idea, i think its better that we all choose a different time period. This will definitely show the drastic change to both treatment and the overall definition of mental illness throughout the coarse of history. I've chosen to go with the middle ages. I will find a historic figure that has suffered a mental disorder and get him "to appear" on our show
Here's a great article that I found regarding famous people who had mental illnesses: http://www.wcvb.com/health/14414700
Some people discussed that I think would be interesting to research: - Beethoven - Winston Churchill - Charles Dickens - Abraham Lincoln - Michelangelo - Isaac Newton - J.K. Rowling - Van Gogh
Considering that many of these people were natural-born geniuses, we could discuss whether or not one's intelligence plays a role in a person's mental health. I personally would have interest in researching Beethoven. Who would you be interested in discussing?
Wow Chris I can definitely use that article for my research and I too like Beethoven, however I wasn’t aware that Winston Churchill was diagnosed as mentally ill so that also intrigues me. I know Winston Churchill did an excellent job as prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War 2, yet how can someone so important to society develop a mental illness? I guess there are different types of mental illnesses that may require different medicines. I look forward to researching more on Churchill and finding out how different treatments have developed over the years.
I love it Chris, this just goes to show how having a mental illness doesn't mean you can't be a perfectly functioning member of society. Look at the names on the list as well, forget functioning member of society. These men have etched their name in the stone of eternity and they didn't let their mental illness stop them, and some of the names on the list are from hundreds of years ago, where if it were discovered you were mentally ill you'd be an outcaste. This is a great discussion to show how as a society we've become extremely lenient on keeping out people for being mentally ill.
Hey guys I really liked how you guys tied in one's intelligence and wartime experience to mental sickness. While Im sure those do have effects on mental illnesses, I was thinking about further developing the topic of mental diseases to its background in history. Maybe we can do further research on what the people of the time thought of mental illnesses (i.e. if it was accepted or rejected in society--looked down upon). I also think we can incorporate the available medicines and procedures society took to aid individuals who had mental illnesses at certain time periods. Through research I believe we can better understand the history of mental illnesses as well as the procedures that developed over time to deal with such diseases. I think it's important to learn about the progression of mental diseases to have a full grasp of what mental illness really is how society deals with it today. Let me know what you guys think of this!
Yes Tuan i fully agree, talking about mental illness during one specific time period is definitely not enough. For such a broad, controversial topic, theres so much for us to present to our peers in class. We need so shed light about how mental illness wasn't taken seriously in previous times or how people blamed people with mental illness because they said god was mad at you, so they gave no effort to help you but only to ostracize you from society, excellent comment Tuan.
Hey i forgot my link http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2000-15312-001. This link discusses the topic of mental illness and how it is related to society. This article argues that not only does mental illness burden the affected individual but also society as well.
Hey guys, its Labeat aka jellyfish the king. During our presentation were going to tackle mental illness from all sides. As we do it though, were not just going from the modern viewpoint but as a matter of fact were going to show you how mental illness and the way society has viewed, treated, mistreated, diagnosed and misdiagnosed mental illness. In this article, it shows how during Ancient Greece, the people said mental illness came from the gods' wrath, even though physicians said that it was probably a physiological reason not from the gods. People still sought out potions and prayer to be cured from mental illness though. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/diagnosing-mental-illness-in-ancient-greece-and-rome/282856/ Beck, Julie. "Diagnosing Mental Illness in Ancient Greece and Rome." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 May 2015.
I'm liking this article LaBeat. It gives a good definition of mental illest in the B.C. era. It's interesting to see how society in the past, unable to comprehend the reasons for mental illnesses resulted back to religion and how the gods imposed such illnesses as a sign of punishment. I think its rather interesting to see how the diagnosis of mental illnesses developed over the span of history and the only way to fully grasp just what mental illnesses are is to learn of its roots. Great research Labeat.
Guys, just found an awesome article. It goes into how civilization has tried to cure mental illness dating back to 5000 B.C. It shows how people used to drill holes in the skull to release evil spirits in Mesopotamia, how in Ancient Egypt, they would recommend that the mentally ill should engage in dancing and festivals to gain a sense of normalcy, how the Jews believe that being mentally ill was a punishment from God. With this great article we can discuss how mental illness was attempted to be cured when they were doing more damage than actually curing! http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/283/the-history-of-mental-illness-from-skull-drills-to-happy-pills Foerschner, Allison M. "The History of Mental Illness: From 'Skull Drills' to 'Happy Pills'." Student Pulse 2.09 (2010).
Great article Labeat. I'm definitely going to use this in my explanation of how mental diseases were viewed in society in ancient times. I think we can tie this into how religion viewed mental illnesses in past times as well. The idea of evil spirits is pretty convincing that it wasn't only the Mesopotamians that believed in the supernatural myth of mental disorders but other religions as well. We can compare Mesopotamia to other religions such as Christianity and the belief of exorcisms.
Hey guys, for our presentation, as you know, is about the way mental illness has changed, and through our blogs you can see how were hitting the big points of mental illness. But i think the biggest thing we have to hit is the question: What is mental illness? Think about it, before modern times with all the scientific technology we have, what made a person mentally ill? How has the definition of mental illness changed over time? For example, during the 1500s, if someone was just a weirdo, physiologically that doesn't mean he was clinically insane. So this is something i think we have to cover in our presentation.
After some research, i found that during the middle ages since the church was so prevalent they basically controlled what was considered to be a mental illness. The church believed that someone who was mentally ill was possessed by the devil and therefore needed some sort of exorcism to rid there soul of the demon. Its so weird just thinking how different it is today. Like a doctor would never tell someone who is bipolar that they are being possessed.
I am interested in what you said Kevin. Did people during your time believe that mentally ill people were possessed? Also did the doctors perform actual procedures or was it just mental medicine? During the 1900's the doctors would pour alcohol on the epileptic patients and then set them on fire in order to weed out the pretenders. They didn't even believe that some of their patients were actually insane. This baffled me to learn this. Also many psychiatrists during this time didn't even believe the mentally ill could be cured so they were basically experimenting on live bodies to see what worked. The article I got this information from is: http://www.tnonline.com/2009/oct/16/treatment-insane-improved-early-1900s
Zbick, Jim. "Treatment for the Insane Improved in the Early 1900s." Treatment for the Insane Improved in the Early 1900s. 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 May 2015.
Hey Donald since we're doing research on how mental illnesses and war time and linked I found an awesome link describing the affect war time as on veterans that come home after serving. Now I know you are going to use World War II as your research but I thought that it would be important not only to see how war in the past has affected individuals in terms of mental illnesses, but also compare that to modern society and the affect wartime has on our veterans today.http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=769661 Let me know what you think of this idea guys. I believe the comparison between different times in history will help us better understand the definition of mental illness.
Hey Tuan, you make a good point about comparing how war in the past has affected individuals in terms of mental illnesses, but I don't think I should be comparing it to how it also affects our veterans today. I think whoever is discussing present mental illness should discuss that. I found a good article like you found(I was unable to open your article) http://www.bipolar-lives.com/winston-churchill-and-manic-depression.html
Freeman, Sarah. "Winston Churchill and Manic Depression: A Fatal Curse or the Root of His Genius?" Bipolar Lives. 11 June 2007. Web. 10 May 2015. This article is great because it discusses Winston Churchill's "Black Dog" and how he was more alert when it came to deciphering Hitler's motives.
After viewing the first group's presentation, I made a few notes of what worked and what didn't. One issue that they had was when they presented research, they read it completely off a script. When they didn't read off a script, there was no research at all. This can be corrected by having all of us bring index cards with bullet points on it. I think the survey was a great way to add class participation. Perhaps at the end of the talk show we can have a quick game show segment where we ask the audience questions about what they learned.
good job pointing that out Paradiso. I, too, believe that we should try to memorize most if not all of the research for the presentation at hand. It'll show that we prepared for the final rather than winged it. I also felt like the first group had a really dull mood while presenting their final. For our group we should be more lively about the topic we're presenting so we can keep the class interested rather than sleeping.
Yes you guys are exactly right. We have to have our information memorized, engage ourselves with the audience and try to keep everyone more interested. I know it is tough going first but we have a better idea of how we can pace ourselves and get our information across while still keeping everyone's attention. I think something important would be to make some of our audience laugh so that way they remain entertained. (Let me know if you agree with this.) We can play games during our show like games seen in The Jimmy Fallon show. If we can make one of those games about our topic then we should definitely do it.
In the second group that went, the opening was presented excellently. By simply adding the words "before we begin the show", they were able to gain the audience's full attention before stating the thesis. I wouldn't do exactly what they did, but I feel we should do something similar. In addition, the information was organized very well. One major flaw, however, is that the "western" character talked for the majority of the presentation. In addition, a lot of the information stated by this character was devoid of research and extremely repetitive. I feel that presenting nothing but quality research in a reasonable amount of time is a better approach than dragging on a presentation throughout the period with a limited amount of research.
I, too, felt that the second group did an amazing job. The western women played by dray was what really held the group together. Although he did talk for the majority of the time, I'm sure barely anyone in the class fell asleep. Their presentation and research was way too repetitious because they didnt do too much research on how the modern day individuals were viewed in society. I'm pretty sure this problem is answered in our presentation by the comparison of the past and the present. Not only will it help our audience further understand the idea of mental disorder, It will also give them a better picture of how mental disorders have developed over the course of time.
The type of powerpoint that I made for the public speaking project would fit this presentation format very well - although with some additions. Points in this project need to be explained carefully and slowly, which gives the audience enough time to read the slides. It can also serve as a quick refresher if any member of the group suddenly forgets a crucial piece of information. This would also suit the talk show format perfectly. Dr. Phil, for example, does this sort of thing all the time with bullet points, analysis, and images.
Great idea on the power point Paradiso. I do agree that certain points of mental illnesses need to be clarified in order for the class to fully understand what we're trying to explain. I think that although the powerpoint could serve useful we shouldn't rely on it too much. since we should know the topics we're discussing I think we should only put brief explanations on the power point. Maybe just some key words or a brief explanation. I feel as if we don't want the class reading too much off the board since they should pay more attention to us when we talk.
Here's how we should organize the presentation: Labeat, as a talk show host, will call out and interview characters one at a time. In addition to asking questions, he can also present the show's intro and the conclusion. Each character from each time period will at first explain what their background is. In other words, they will explain their time period's perception of public illness, the treatment available, and the public perception. Think of it like on a talk show where they show an interview of a person on the screen before doing so live. We can even show visuals from the time period in the powerpoint. After the intro, the characters will respond to Labeat's questions. The questions and answers will derive from our individual research.
I agree with you on this Chris. Labeat should be opening with a short speech and then closing with a nice speech about what has just been seen. He should discuss that a lot has changed with how different time periods viewed different mental illnesses (our interviews will have already taken place and the audience will have already seen how treatments had changed over the course of hundreds of years.) Visuals will also be very important too so that way we keep the audience's attention. If we are sitting there just rambling on about mental illness for 35 minutes then nobody would want to stay awake. Also the use of a game will help incorporate the audience. We can open by asking the audience questions about what they think mental illness is and then explain what mental illness really is.
Heres the thing though. We definitely need to work in some sort of interactive aspect, but i don't think a game is the best way to do it. I feel like the audience needs to be asked questions to see what they actually know. If we try to incorporate a game, i feel like were gonna stray off topic and its going to seem like were stalling. We need to get them into it without losing sight of the main goal. Any ideas? Let me know what you think.
Hey guys, Since I'm going to be talking about the religious background of mental illness and society's take on mental disorder I found a scholarly book that discusses the religious views on mental illnesses in the past.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-8dGBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA4&dq=religion+and+mental+illness+in+society&ots=37Zz_ge3mg&sig=Rp5lCvSBmSfs1rfiaq1cjNGwOLE#v=onepage&q=religion%20and%20mental%20illness%20in%20society&f=false . The book discusses the past views of how religions such as christianity and Islam. The book also discusses what society views of mental illnesses today which i think will only benefit us further. With this article, we should be able to get a clearer view of how religion viewed mental illnesses in the past and compare it to modern times to fully grasp the idea of mental disorder in itself.
Beethoven's creativity was a direct result of two factors: his hearing loss and his bipolar disorder. While his hearing loss (ironically) enabled him to re-imagine the world of music, it's the various emotions conveyed in his works that made them particularly notable. According to Kogan, a medical specialist from Harvard University, Beethoven became truly psychotic after a failed romance. He was convinced, likely because of his deaf nature, that he would never obtain a conventional family life. In a twist of fate ironically similar to Hamlet, the death of Beethoven's brother maddens him even further. He ends up in a custody battle over his nephew, stating that “the boy's mother... poison[ed] her husband and insist[ed] against all evidence that he was the actual biological father of the child” (Kogan 44). To make matters worse, Beethoven refused to create any new works until he, eventually, won the trial. His change in psychological state after the trial directly influenced his later works.
Work Cited: Maxwell, Bryan, and Kogan, Richard. “The Music and Mind of Beethoven: Chords of Disquiet.” (SA Bulletin, n.d. Web. 10 May. 2015.
During the time of Beethoven (late 1700s, early 1800s), there was some improvement over the treatment of mentally ill patients. Prior to this time, people deemed insane were often abandoned, left in prisons, and abused. In the late 1700s, however, concern over the treatment of these individuals increased and doctors started to look for cures. Many of these “cures” are recognized today as being botch treatments, such as bleeding the patient and making the patient vomit. However, one of these treatments is particularly notable: “Centrifuge therapy”. A patient would be put on a rotating chair, and would experience a force of up to 5G in the head region. According to Harsch, several hundred patients were exposed to this torturous device. He states that this experiment resulted in the first ever documented effects of G-force, “such as shortness of breath and a feeling of oppression and anxiety” (Harsch). One can be baffled over why such contraptions were used on mentally ill people.
Work Cited: Harsch, Viktor. "Centrifuge “Therapy” for Psychiatric Patients in Germany in the Early 1800s." Aviation, space, and environmental medicine 77.2 (2006): 157-160. Web. 11 May. 2015.
Hey guys, I just had a good idea. To get the audience in with our presentation we can open up by asking what they think are mental illnesses. Labeat can write what they say on the board and then he can share some illnesses that the class didn't know. We won't be stalling for time because this will make for a good transition into what Labeat will start to discuss. Like I said though, this is just an idea, so take it or leave it.
I like this and we can also add some slides about some of the famous people today that suffer with disabilities. This can show that mental illness is all around and we don't even realize it. I don't think this would be considered stalling cause we can show that even the everyday heroes that we look up to suffer from things that they can't control. These people are being treated like everyone else but they still seem to fit in. Let me know guys.
Tyrrell, Christy. "Middle Ages." Treatment of the Mentally Ill. Word Press, N.D. Web. 11 May 2015.
Since I'm doing the middle ages, i found an this article which discusses the view of these disorders during this time period. People who had something wrong with them were considered to be possessed by the devil. The church was so influential that they were even able to decided who was considered mentally insane even though they didn't use any medical research. I can use this to discuss how my character was treated for his disability and how they didn't even completely understand what was going on. The treatments during this time was so bizarre due to the fact that there was absolutely no way to prove the theories.
Burton, Neel. "A History of Madness." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 02 June 2012. Web. 11 May 2015.
While i was researching i found this article that discusses the way mental illness has changed. I found that when the when the Roman empire collapsed the rise of Christianity represented important setbacks to the natural progression of thought, and the Church promoted the idea of madness as divine punishment. They believed that the people suffering were being controlled. This is so different from todays view of how the brains defects are the reasons to these disorders. This becomes helpful because i can talk about how the church played a crucial role in the way a person was considered mentally ill. The church used odd ways to fix this like the means of exorcisms and spiritual washings.
Ive decided to use King Charles VI as my character. Let me tell you this guy had some life. He would go threw random spurts of insanity and still ran France like a boss. He would sometimes think that he would be made of glass and he would have rods put in his cloths to help him not break. Out of his mind. His wife literally couldn't deal with it so she found a replacement and had a kid with his brother. This guy literally has so much to talk about. http://mentalfloss.com/article/21730/5-mentally-ill-monarchs
Great character to use kevin. Its one thing to use a celebrity as an example but if a celebrity is mentally ill, it doesnt matter. But when the absolute monarch is out of his mind and every decision falls on him, its smart to see the affect of mental illness from one person on an entire empire.
ok so instead of doing a one on one interview setting, i think we should mix it up. Like labeat should ask a question and then its open for all four of us to answer. This will help open the floor to to other improve questions. Like since we all know about our characters, we shouldn't have an issue talking about it, Let me know guys cause i want it to seem fluent and not rehearsed.
I completely agree with this. Looking back at the other presentations, I feel that they were strongest with this kind of format. It's better if the presentation is spontaneous and not just memorizing lines for the character. We don't even have to respond in a specific order; whoever wants to speak can just do so. This format is also completely compatible with our Q and A setup, so no adjustment to the presentation is required.
I also like Donald's idea from before. Involving the audience like that should ensure that they pay attention and don't fall asleep. They in a way get to choose the direction of the presentation and can be fully immersed in it.
This is a great idea Kevin. While Labeat is going around the table asking everyone questions, we can feed off of each other and actually have meaningful conversations. This definitely won't be rehearsed but that's why we have Labeat. he can come up with great ideas on the spot to improve the overall discussions we have. Also, with your above post, King Charles VI sounds like a crazy dude. It really boggled my mind how people like King Charles and Churchill had so much authority, yet, they were seriously mentally ill. It leads one to think how different things may have been if their decisions weren't corrupted by illness.
This is honestly a great idea guys. I am ready to discuss the history of mental illness and how it has changed. I am going to make it into a fun talk show. No one will fall asleep because of how entertaining we will be. You guys are doing a great job.
Hey guys its Don and I will be one of the people being interviewed in the talk show, “Late Night with Labeat”. My character is from the 20th century and I will discuss different famous people who developed mental illnesses. I will also speak about how wartime dramatically affected mental illness in young men that were drafted. I am interested to hear what you think about my ideas and what you guys want to do as well.
ReplyDelete-DMcAlpin
Awesome idea! I feel as if the talk show will create a lot of opportunities for everyone in our group to be interactive in our presentation. I think a talk show is not only creative but will also keep our classmates interested as well(since its not just a boring lecture). Since you're going to be a person being interviewed on the show, I think we should have others being interviewed as well(Maybe some of the people Paradiso mentioned in his post). I also think we should incorporate some background information about mental illness before we start the talk show(maybe some power points describing mental diseases and how they affect us). Great idea Donald. Let me know what you guys think of how else we can expand on the idea of a talk show!
DeleteIm loving this. Its very interesting to know how something like traumatic experiences can cause a mental illness when its not even there. How things like PTSD is an actual condition that can ruin some people and possibly even make some veterans commit suicide because of the horrors of war. Its crazy to think how someone could've been the happiest, sweetest person but war time can make them lose figuratively lose their souls.
DeletePerfect. Since we all decided to go with the talk show idea, i think its better that we all choose a different time period. This will definitely show the drastic change to both treatment and the overall definition of mental illness throughout the coarse of history. I've chosen to go with the middle ages. I will find a historic figure that has suffered a mental disorder and get him "to appear" on our show
DeleteHere's a great article that I found regarding famous people who had mental illnesses:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wcvb.com/health/14414700
Some people discussed that I think would be interesting to research:
- Beethoven
- Winston Churchill
- Charles Dickens
- Abraham Lincoln
- Michelangelo
- Isaac Newton
- J.K. Rowling
- Van Gogh
Considering that many of these people were natural-born geniuses, we could discuss whether or not one's intelligence plays a role in a person's mental health. I personally would have interest in researching Beethoven. Who would you be interested in discussing?
Wow Chris I can definitely use that article for my research and I too like Beethoven, however I wasn’t aware that Winston Churchill was diagnosed as mentally ill so that also intrigues me. I know Winston Churchill did an excellent job as prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War 2, yet how can someone so important to society develop a mental illness? I guess there are different types of mental illnesses that may require different medicines. I look forward to researching more on Churchill and finding out how different treatments have developed over the years.
DeleteI love it Chris, this just goes to show how having a mental illness doesn't mean you can't be a perfectly functioning member of society. Look at the names on the list as well, forget functioning member of society. These men have etched their name in the stone of eternity and they didn't let their mental illness stop them, and some of the names on the list are from hundreds of years ago, where if it were discovered you were mentally ill you'd be an outcaste. This is a great discussion to show how as a society we've become extremely lenient on keeping out people for being mentally ill.
DeleteHey guys I really liked how you guys tied in one's intelligence and wartime experience to mental sickness. While Im sure those do have effects on mental illnesses, I was thinking about further developing the topic of mental diseases to its background in history. Maybe we can do further research on what the people of the time thought of mental illnesses (i.e. if it was accepted or rejected in society--looked down upon). I also think we can incorporate the available medicines and procedures society took to aid individuals who had mental illnesses at certain time periods. Through research I believe we can better understand the history of mental illnesses as well as the procedures that developed over time to deal with such diseases. I think it's important to learn about the progression of mental diseases to have a full grasp of what mental illness really is how society deals with it today. Let me know what you guys think of this!
ReplyDelete-TNguyen
Yes Tuan i fully agree, talking about mental illness during one specific time period is definitely not enough. For such a broad, controversial topic, theres so much for us to present to our peers in class. We need so shed light about how mental illness wasn't taken seriously in previous times or how people blamed people with mental illness because they said god was mad at you, so they gave no effort to help you but only to ostracize you from society, excellent comment Tuan.
DeleteHey i forgot my link http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2000-15312-001. This link discusses the topic of mental illness and how it is related to society. This article argues that not only does mental illness burden the affected individual but also society as well.
DeleteHey guys, its Labeat aka jellyfish the king. During our presentation were going to tackle mental illness from all sides. As we do it though, were not just going from the modern viewpoint but as a matter of fact were going to show you how mental illness and the way society has viewed, treated, mistreated, diagnosed and misdiagnosed mental illness. In this article, it shows how during Ancient Greece, the people said mental illness came from the gods' wrath, even though physicians said that it was probably a physiological reason not from the gods. People still sought out potions and prayer to be cured from mental illness though. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/diagnosing-mental-illness-in-ancient-greece-and-rome/282856/
ReplyDeleteBeck, Julie. "Diagnosing Mental Illness in Ancient Greece and Rome." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 May 2015.
I'm liking this article LaBeat. It gives a good definition of mental illest in the B.C. era. It's interesting to see how society in the past, unable to comprehend the reasons for mental illnesses resulted back to religion and how the gods imposed such illnesses as a sign of punishment. I think its rather interesting to see how the diagnosis of mental illnesses developed over the span of history and the only way to fully grasp just what mental illnesses are is to learn of its roots. Great research Labeat.
DeleteGuys, just found an awesome article. It goes into how civilization has tried to cure mental illness dating back to 5000 B.C. It shows how people used to drill holes in the skull to release evil spirits in Mesopotamia, how in Ancient Egypt, they would recommend that the mentally ill should engage in dancing and festivals to gain a sense of normalcy, how the Jews believe that being mentally ill was a punishment from God. With this great article we can discuss how mental illness was attempted to be cured when they were doing more damage than actually curing!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.studentpulse.com/articles/283/the-history-of-mental-illness-from-skull-drills-to-happy-pills
Foerschner, Allison M. "The History of Mental Illness: From 'Skull Drills' to 'Happy Pills'." Student Pulse 2.09 (2010).
Great article Labeat. I'm definitely going to use this in my explanation of how mental diseases were viewed in society in ancient times. I think we can tie this into how religion viewed mental illnesses in past times as well. The idea of evil spirits is pretty convincing that it wasn't only the Mesopotamians that believed in the supernatural myth of mental disorders but other religions as well. We can compare Mesopotamia to other religions such as Christianity and the belief of exorcisms.
DeleteHey guys, for our presentation, as you know, is about the way mental illness has changed, and through our blogs you can see how were hitting the big points of mental illness. But i think the biggest thing we have to hit is the question: What is mental illness? Think about it, before modern times with all the scientific technology we have, what made a person mentally ill? How has the definition of mental illness changed over time? For example, during the 1500s, if someone was just a weirdo, physiologically that doesn't mean he was clinically insane. So this is something i think we have to cover in our presentation.
ReplyDeleteAfter some research, i found that during the middle ages since the church was so prevalent they basically controlled what was considered to be a mental illness. The church believed that someone who was mentally ill was possessed by the devil and therefore needed some sort of exorcism to rid there soul of the demon. Its so weird just thinking how different it is today. Like a doctor would never tell someone who is bipolar that they are being possessed.
DeleteI am interested in what you said Kevin. Did people during your time believe that mentally ill people were possessed? Also did the doctors perform actual procedures or was it just mental medicine? During the 1900's the doctors would pour alcohol on the epileptic patients and then set them on fire in order to weed out the pretenders. They didn't even believe that some of their patients were actually insane. This baffled me to learn this. Also many psychiatrists during this time didn't even believe the mentally ill could be cured so they were basically experimenting on live bodies to see what worked. The article I got this information from is: http://www.tnonline.com/2009/oct/16/treatment-insane-improved-early-1900s
DeleteZbick, Jim. "Treatment for the Insane Improved in the Early 1900s." Treatment for the Insane Improved in the Early 1900s. 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 May 2015.
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ReplyDeleteHey Donald since we're doing research on how mental illnesses and war time and linked I found an awesome link describing the affect war time as on veterans that come home after serving. Now I know you are going to use World War II as your research but I thought that it would be important not only to see how war in the past has affected individuals in terms of mental illnesses, but also compare that to modern society and the affect wartime has on our veterans today.http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=769661 Let me know what you think of this idea guys. I believe the comparison between different times in history will help us better understand the definition of mental illness.
ReplyDeleteHey Tuan, you make a good point about comparing how war in the past has affected individuals in terms of mental illnesses, but I don't think I should be comparing it to how it also affects our veterans today. I think whoever is discussing present mental illness should discuss that. I found a good article like you found(I was unable to open your article)
Deletehttp://www.bipolar-lives.com/winston-churchill-and-manic-depression.html
Freeman, Sarah. "Winston Churchill and Manic Depression: A Fatal Curse or the Root of His Genius?" Bipolar Lives. 11 June 2007. Web. 10 May 2015.
This article is great because it discusses Winston Churchill's "Black Dog" and how he was more alert when it came to deciphering Hitler's motives.
After viewing the first group's presentation, I made a few notes of what worked and what didn't. One issue that they had was when they presented research, they read it completely off a script. When they didn't read off a script, there was no research at all. This can be corrected by having all of us bring index cards with bullet points on it. I think the survey was a great way to add class participation. Perhaps at the end of the talk show we can have a quick game show segment where we ask the audience questions about what they learned.
ReplyDeletegood job pointing that out Paradiso. I, too, believe that we should try to memorize most if not all of the research for the presentation at hand. It'll show that we prepared for the final rather than winged it. I also felt like the first group had a really dull mood while presenting their final. For our group we should be more lively about the topic we're presenting so we can keep the class interested rather than sleeping.
DeleteYes you guys are exactly right. We have to have our information memorized, engage ourselves with the audience and try to keep everyone more interested. I know it is tough going first but we have a better idea of how we can pace ourselves and get our information across while still keeping everyone's attention. I think something important would be to make some of our audience laugh so that way they remain entertained. (Let me know if you agree with this.) We can play games during our show like games seen in The Jimmy Fallon show. If we can make one of those games about our topic then we should definitely do it.
DeleteIn the second group that went, the opening was presented excellently. By simply adding the words "before we begin the show", they were able to gain the audience's full attention before stating the thesis. I wouldn't do exactly what they did, but I feel we should do something similar. In addition, the information was organized very well. One major flaw, however, is that the "western" character talked for the majority of the presentation. In addition, a lot of the information stated by this character was devoid of research and extremely repetitive. I feel that presenting nothing but quality research in a reasonable amount of time is a better approach than dragging on a presentation throughout the period with a limited amount of research.
ReplyDeleteI, too, felt that the second group did an amazing job. The western women played by dray was what really held the group together. Although he did talk for the majority of the time, I'm sure barely anyone in the class fell asleep. Their presentation and research was way too repetitious because they didnt do too much research on how the modern day individuals were viewed in society. I'm pretty sure this problem is answered in our presentation by the comparison of the past and the present. Not only will it help our audience further understand the idea of mental disorder, It will also give them a better picture of how mental disorders have developed over the course of time.
DeleteThe type of powerpoint that I made for the public speaking project would fit this presentation format very well - although with some additions. Points in this project need to be explained carefully and slowly, which gives the audience enough time to read the slides. It can also serve as a quick refresher if any member of the group suddenly forgets a crucial piece of information. This would also suit the talk show format perfectly. Dr. Phil, for example, does this sort of thing all the time with bullet points, analysis, and images.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea on the power point Paradiso. I do agree that certain points of mental illnesses need to be clarified in order for the class to fully understand what we're trying to explain. I think that although the powerpoint could serve useful we shouldn't rely on it too much. since we should know the topics we're discussing I think we should only put brief explanations on the power point. Maybe just some key words or a brief explanation. I feel as if we don't want the class reading too much off the board since they should pay more attention to us when we talk.
DeleteHere's how we should organize the presentation: Labeat, as a talk show host, will call out and interview characters one at a time. In addition to asking questions, he can also present the show's intro and the conclusion. Each character from each time period will at first explain what their background is. In other words, they will explain their time period's perception of public illness, the treatment available, and the public perception. Think of it like on a talk show where they show an interview of a person on the screen before doing so live. We can even show visuals from the time period in the powerpoint. After the intro, the characters will respond to Labeat's questions. The questions and answers will derive from our individual research.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this Chris. Labeat should be opening with a short speech and then closing with a nice speech about what has just been seen. He should discuss that a lot has changed with how different time periods viewed different mental illnesses (our interviews will have already taken place and the audience will have already seen how treatments had changed over the course of hundreds of years.) Visuals will also be very important too so that way we keep the audience's attention. If we are sitting there just rambling on about mental illness for 35 minutes then nobody would want to stay awake. Also the use of a game will help incorporate the audience. We can open by asking the audience questions about what they think mental illness is and then explain what mental illness really is.
DeleteHeres the thing though. We definitely need to work in some sort of interactive aspect, but i don't think a game is the best way to do it. I feel like the audience needs to be asked questions to see what they actually know. If we try to incorporate a game, i feel like were gonna stray off topic and its going to seem like were stalling. We need to get them into it without losing sight of the main goal. Any ideas? Let me know what you think.
DeleteHey guys, Since I'm going to be talking about the religious background of mental illness and society's take on mental disorder I found a scholarly book that discusses the religious views on mental illnesses in the past.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-8dGBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA4&dq=religion+and+mental+illness+in+society&ots=37Zz_ge3mg&sig=Rp5lCvSBmSfs1rfiaq1cjNGwOLE#v=onepage&q=religion%20and%20mental%20illness%20in%20society&f=false . The book discusses the past views of how religions such as christianity and Islam. The book also discusses what society views of mental illnesses today which i think will only benefit us further. With this article, we should be able to get a clearer view of how religion viewed mental illnesses in the past and compare it to modern times to fully grasp the idea of mental disorder in itself.
ReplyDeleteBeethoven's creativity was a direct result of two factors: his hearing loss and his bipolar disorder. While his hearing loss (ironically) enabled him to re-imagine the world of music, it's the various emotions conveyed in his works that made them particularly notable. According to Kogan, a medical specialist from Harvard University, Beethoven became truly psychotic after a failed romance. He was convinced, likely because of his deaf nature, that he would never obtain a conventional family life. In a twist of fate ironically similar to Hamlet, the death of Beethoven's brother maddens him even further. He ends up in a custody battle over his nephew, stating that “the boy's mother... poison[ed] her husband and insist[ed] against all evidence that he was the actual biological father of the child” (Kogan 44). To make matters worse, Beethoven refused to create any new works until he, eventually, won the trial. His change in psychological state after the trial directly influenced his later works.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited:
Maxwell, Bryan, and Kogan, Richard. “The Music and Mind of Beethoven: Chords of Disquiet.” (SA Bulletin, n.d. Web. 10 May. 2015.
During the time of Beethoven (late 1700s, early 1800s), there was some improvement over the treatment of mentally ill patients. Prior to this time, people deemed insane were often abandoned, left in prisons, and abused. In the late 1700s, however, concern over the treatment of these individuals increased and doctors started to look for cures. Many of these “cures” are recognized today as being botch treatments, such as bleeding the patient and making the patient vomit. However, one of these treatments is particularly notable: “Centrifuge therapy”. A patient would be put on a rotating chair, and would experience a force of up to 5G in the head region. According to Harsch, several hundred patients were exposed to this torturous device. He states that this experiment resulted in the first ever documented effects of G-force, “such as shortness of breath and a feeling of oppression and anxiety” (Harsch). One can be baffled over why such contraptions were used on mentally ill people.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited:
Harsch, Viktor. "Centrifuge “Therapy” for Psychiatric Patients in Germany in the Early 1800s." Aviation, space, and environmental medicine 77.2 (2006): 157-160. Web. 11 May. 2015.
Hey guys, I just had a good idea. To get the audience in with our presentation we can open up by asking what they think are mental illnesses. Labeat can write what they say on the board and then he can share some illnesses that the class didn't know. We won't be stalling for time because this will make for a good transition into what Labeat will start to discuss. Like I said though, this is just an idea, so take it or leave it.
ReplyDeleteI like this and we can also add some slides about some of the famous people today that suffer with disabilities. This can show that mental illness is all around and we don't even realize it. I don't think this would be considered stalling cause we can show that even the everyday heroes that we look up to suffer from things that they can't control. These people are being treated like everyone else but they still seem to fit in. Let me know guys.
DeleteTyrrell, Christy. "Middle Ages." Treatment of the Mentally Ill. Word Press, N.D. Web. 11 May 2015.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm doing the middle ages, i found an this article which discusses the view of these disorders during this time period. People who had something wrong with them were considered to be possessed by the devil. The church was so influential that they were even able to decided who was considered mentally insane even though they didn't use any medical research. I can use this to discuss how my character was treated for his disability and how they didn't even completely understand what was going on. The treatments during this time was so bizarre due to the fact that there was absolutely no way to prove the theories.
Burton, Neel. "A History of Madness." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 02 June 2012. Web. 11 May 2015.
ReplyDeleteWhile i was researching i found this article that discusses the way mental illness has changed. I found that when the when the Roman empire collapsed the rise of Christianity represented important setbacks to the natural progression of thought, and the Church promoted the idea of madness as divine punishment. They believed that the people suffering were being controlled. This is so different from todays view of how the brains defects are the reasons to these disorders. This becomes helpful because i can talk about how the church played a crucial role in the way a person was considered mentally ill. The church used odd ways to fix this like the means of exorcisms and spiritual washings.
Ive decided to use King Charles VI as my character. Let me tell you this guy had some life. He would go threw random spurts of insanity and still ran France like a boss. He would sometimes think that he would be made of glass and he would have rods put in his cloths to help him not break. Out of his mind. His wife literally couldn't deal with it so she found a replacement and had a kid with his brother. This guy literally has so much to talk about. http://mentalfloss.com/article/21730/5-mentally-ill-monarchs
ReplyDeleteGreat character to use kevin. Its one thing to use a celebrity as an example but if a celebrity is mentally ill, it doesnt matter. But when the absolute monarch is out of his mind and every decision falls on him, its smart to see the affect of mental illness from one person on an entire empire.
Deleteok so instead of doing a one on one interview setting, i think we should mix it up. Like labeat should ask a question and then its open for all four of us to answer. This will help open the floor to to other improve questions. Like since we all know about our characters, we shouldn't have an issue talking about it, Let me know guys cause i want it to seem fluent and not rehearsed.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this. Looking back at the other presentations, I feel that they were strongest with this kind of format. It's better if the presentation is spontaneous and not just memorizing lines for the character. We don't even have to respond in a specific order; whoever wants to speak can just do so. This format is also completely compatible with our Q and A setup, so no adjustment to the presentation is required.
DeleteI also like Donald's idea from before. Involving the audience like that should ensure that they pay attention and don't fall asleep. They in a way get to choose the direction of the presentation and can be fully immersed in it.
This is a great idea Kevin. While Labeat is going around the table asking everyone questions, we can feed off of each other and actually have meaningful conversations. This definitely won't be rehearsed but that's why we have Labeat. he can come up with great ideas on the spot to improve the overall discussions we have. Also, with your above post, King Charles VI sounds like a crazy dude. It really boggled my mind how people like King Charles and Churchill had so much authority, yet, they were seriously mentally ill. It leads one to think how different things may have been if their decisions weren't corrupted by illness.
DeleteThis is honestly a great idea guys. I am ready to discuss the history of mental illness and how it has changed. I am going to make it into a fun talk show. No one will fall asleep because of how entertaining we will be. You guys are doing a great job.
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