Policing Madness in Twentieth Century Beijing

CSUSB Modern China Lecture Series
invites the
World Affairs Council to a Guest Lecture
by Emily Baum
Assistant Professor of Modern China, UC Irvine

Policing Madness in Twentieth Century Beijing

November 3, 2016
2:00 pm
CSUSB Pfau Library

Prior to the twentieth century, madness in China was typically managed within the home, and the state was only expected to intervene when the mentally ill individual committed a serious crime. In the first two decades of the century, however, the late Qing and early Republican governments began to adopt a more proactive stance toward the policing of madness. Under pressure from foreign missionaries, Qing authorities erected a public asylum in Beijing in 1908, which was placed under the management of the municipal police. From this point forward, the municipality began to preemptively arrest and institutionalize the insane, regardless of whether they had broken the law. This talk will examine the shift from reactive to proactive policing of madness, and will discuss why the Beijing police chose to institutionalize the individuals they did. In so doing, it will seek to shed light on the relationship between modern statecraft and shifting conceptions of madness.

This program is free, but parking costs $6 per car. Purchase pass at the kiosk or parking lot machines. Preregistration not required.

Location
CSUSB, 5500 University Pkwy., San Bernardino 92407
Map: https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/files/CSUSBcampusmap-color.pdf
Pfau Library is in the center or the campus quad. To get to the 4th floor, use the elevators inside the library.