‘Not just a building, a community.’ Staff reflections on former historic asylum sites.

GIBBESON, Carolyn (2020). ‘Not just a building, a community.’ Staff reflections on former historic asylum sites. Oral History.

PDF (Make AM available on publication/Published version can be hosted with 12m embargo) Gibbeson-NotJustBuilding(AM).pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 January 2050. All rights reserved. Download (379kB)

Abstract

This article draws on interviews with former staff members from three historic asylum sites in the north of England. It examines the attachments staff felt towards these sites, which have often been considered tainted or stigmatised. These insider narratives provide a contrast to the often-negative outsider views of asylums. Former staff experiences of space can also be characterised in terms of inside and outside; although they lived regimented lives, they were free to come and go around their workplace, unlike patients. Their memories reveal them having inhabited an in-between world, where the isolation of these institutions separated them from the outside community, of which they were also a part. This article builds on limited existing work about staff experiences and their narratives, further highlighting the wide-ranging and often contested meanings of these historic buildings and sites.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	2103 Historical Studies
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2020 14:52
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2020 15:00
URI:	http://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26707

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads

Publication Metrics