Madness and Marginality

Based on over 250 psychiatric case files, this book traces the lives of Kenya’s ‘white insane’ to focus not on the ‘great white hunters’ and heroic pioneer farmers but on those Europeans who did not manage to emulate the colonial ideal. In doing so, the book raises important new questions around deviance, transgression and social control. -- .

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Based on over two hundred and fifty psychiatric case files, this book offers a radical new departure from existing historical accounts of what is still commonly thought of as the most picturesque of Britain’s colonies overseas. By tracing the life histories of Kenya’s ‘white insane’, the book allows for a new account of settler society: one that moves attention away from the ‘great white hunters’ and heroic pioneer farmers to all those Europeans who did not manage to emulate the colonial ideal. In doing so, it raises important new questions around deviance, transgression and social control. Sitting at the intersection of a number of fields, the book will appeal to students and teachers of imperial history, colonial medicine, African history and postcolonial theory and will prove a valuable addition to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. -- .