Self, Senility, and Alzheimer′s Disease in Modern America – A History
Author(s): Jesse F Ballenger (Author)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication Date: 13 April 2006
Language: English
Print length: 312 pages
ISBN-10: 0801882761
ISBN-13: 9780801882760
Book Description
Historian Jesse F. Ballenger traces the emergence of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the 1980s, a period in which Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying prospect of losing one's self. Changes in American society and culture have complicated the notion of selfhood, Ballenger finds. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must be carefully and willfully constructed. Thus, losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative is considered one of life's most dreadful losses. As Ballenger writes "senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man." Stereotypes of senility and Alzheimer's disease are related to anxiety about the coherence, stability, and agency of the self-stereotypes that are transforming perceptions of old age in modern America. Drawing on scientific, clinical, policy, and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores early twentieth-century concepts of aging and the emergence of gerontology to understand and distinguish normal aging from disease. In addition, he examines American psychiatry's approaches to the treatment of senility and scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia. Ballenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.
Editorial Reviews
Review
A lucid and thoughtful history and a timely contribution . . . will appeal to readers from all professional backgrounds. --Stephen Katz, Ageing and Society
A powerful, lucid account . . . Ballenger can be congratulated for a truly fascinating exploration of aging and senility. This book will appeal to physicians and historians, and the author (or the publishers) should consider marketing it to a broader public audience. --Stephen Casper,
Medical History
A substantial contribution to our knowledge . . . We are grateful to Ballenger for making a contribution to creating such wisdom and helping advance our culture's moral imagination. --Danny George and Peter Whitehouss,
Medical Humanities Review
An important book that deserves a wide readership. --Gerald N. Grob,
Journal of American History
Ballenger aims not only to provide a cultural history of the disease but also to make ethical and epistemological claims about whether a human being with advanced Alzheimer's disease is still a person. These ambitions impose unusually high scholarly standards. Ballenger is up to the task. --Thomas R. Cole,
American Historical Review
Ballenger has done the field a great service in tracing the historical roots of this problem. --Benjamin T. Mast,
PsycCRITIQUES
Ballenger has written a persuasive account of a complicated subject, confronting the problem of dementia compassionately but unflinchingly . . . His writing is clear, graceful, and unburdened by jargon. This book deserves to be widely read by both historians and people dealing directly with dementia, including health care providers and family members. --Lisa Boult,
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Both science and history blend in a survey of aging and dementia, making for a broad discussion not just of changing American attitudes and culture, but changing health system responses. --
California Bookwatch
Give[s] the reader a vibrant and provocative account of how to think about Alzheimer's disease in anything but settled or conventional terms. --Martha Holstein,
Healthcare and Aging Newsletter
This revealing and informative account is worth reading. --Chris Ball,
History of Psychiatry
This work is a major contribution to the history of dementia and Alzheimer disease. --
JAMA
From the Inside Flap
Senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man, historian Jesse Ballenger asserts. Here, Ballenger traces the transformation of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, when Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying concept of losing one's self. During this period, changes in American society and culture complicated the notion of selfhood. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must now be carefully and willfully constructed-and thus losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative may be considered one of life's most dreadful losses.
Drawing on scientific and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores the significance of dementia as a major health issue and the emergence of gerontology as a science to describe normal aging and distinguish it from disease. In addition, he examines how psychiatry approaches the treatment of senility and follows scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia.
From the Back Cover
Senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man, historian Jesse Ballenger asserts. Here, Ballenger traces the transformation of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, when Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying concept of losing one's self. During this period, changes in American society and culture complicated the notion of selfhood. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must now be carefully and willfully constructed-and thus losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative may be considered one of life's most dreadful losses.
Drawing on scientific and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores the significance of dementia as a major health issue and the emergence of gerontology as a science to describe normal aging and distinguish it from disease. In addition, he examines how psychiatry approaches the treatment of senility and follows scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia.
About the Author
Jesse F. Ballenger is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Pennsylvania State University and coeditor of Concepts of Alzheimer Disease: Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).
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