Project description
Mental suffering in 16th- and 17th-century Scandinavia
Knowledge regarding how social status, gender, and age influenced experiences of mental states before the modern era is limited, thereby constraining our historical comprehension of mental suffering. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CROW project will investigate experiences of mental illness in 16th- and 17th-century Scandinavia. By analysing records from ecclesiastical courts, the project uncovers patterns in individual statements concerning embodiment. Furthermore, it examines patterns of melancholic descriptions in medical texts to offer a historical narrative of mental suffering. Using new sources and digital methodologies, the project aims to encompass a wider range of experiences. Ultimately, CROW enhances our understanding of mental illness in the early modern era and contributes to theoretical advancements in the history of experience.
Objective
CROW explores lay experiences of being mentally unwell in 16th- and 17th century Scandinavia. It asks how social status, gender and age affected experiences of mental states before the modern era. In doing so, it deepens our understanding of mental suffering historically and creates an inclusive and complex history of the phenomenon. The project uses new sources and new digital methods that combined can reach a wide variety of experiences. The objectives of CROW are: 1. Provide an examination of experiences of being mentally unwell in the early modern period that takes into account embodied experiences and emotions as well as early modern religious and medical frameworks; 2. Advance the scope for examining lay peoples experiences through the use of digital methods; 3. Provide a historical account of experiences of mental suffering that informs present-day debate about mental health.
CROW uses as a point of departure the understanding that experiences are created through embodied sensations in cultural contexts, and thus socially bound and historically significant, to argue that they can be researched through patterns in individual statements regarding embodiment, in tandem with reconstruction of cultural frameworks. The project examines ecclesiastical court records from the Scandinavian realms to find patterns in verbatim text concerning embodied sensations. These patterns are examined in relation to descriptions of melancholy in religious and medical vernacular texts aimed at a lay audience. Through the use of software in several steps, the examination moves from the concept of melancholy, which is key to understanding mental suffering in the early modern, learned debate, to the descriptions of embodiment, which means that experiences of mental suffering can be found even when the concept of melancholy is absent. In addition to advancing understanding of early modern mental suffering, this approach will contribute theoretically to the history of experience.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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