Lobotomy Nation

Jesper Vaczy Kragh is Senior Researcher in the Copenhagen Centre for Health Research in the Humanities (CoRe) at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has worked on research projects on the history of forensic psychiatry, Nordic psychology, drug abuse in the 19th and early 20th century and the history of vulnerable groups, 1945–1980. He is Co-Editor of the book, Social Class and Mental Illness in Northern Europe (2020).

“Kragh’s monograph is more than a history of lobotomy. … Kragh is in impressive command of his source material, advancing his arguments forcefully and effectively. The book is well organized and clearly written … . Eschewing simplistic conclusions, Kragh has chosen to take the hard road of carefully analyzing psychiatric practices and contexts. As a result, his study stands head and shoulders above many lesser works. Future scholars will have no choice but to reckon with his conclusions.” (Eric J. Engstrom, H-Soz-Kult, hsozkult.de, February 3, 2023)

• Chapter 1. White Incisions and Black Butterflies: Introduction.- Part I: Towards Lobotomy.- Chapter 2. State Mental Health Services: Danish Hospitals and the Directorate, 1922-52.- Chapter 3. Malaria and the Interwar Years: Malaria Fever Therapy and other Innovations in Psychiatry, 1922-37.- Chapter 4. Shock and Coma: Insulin and Cardiazol Shock Therapy, 1937-42.- Chapter 5. Psychiatric Cooperation: Shock Treatment, Diagnoses and Psychiatric Textbooks, 1939-42.- Part II: The Time of Lobotomy.- Chapter 6. Something Different: Lobotomy, Electroshock Therapy and Plans for Psychiatry, 1939-47.- Chapter 7. The First of Many: Lobotomy and the State Mental Hospital in Vordinborg, 1940-47.- Chapter 8. The Apostles of the Knife: Lobotomy, the Directorate and the General Public, 1946-56.- Chapter 9. Last Resort?: Selecting Patients for Lobotomies in Vordinborg, 1947-56.- Chapter 10. Women and the Problem of Psychopathy: Gender and Control in Vordinborg, 1947-56.- Part III: The Demise of Psychosurgery.- Chapter 11. A Question of Consent: Coercion and Consent to Lobotomy, 1946-58.- Chapter 12. Lobotomia Sequelae: The Side-effects of Lobotomy, 1955-83.- Chapter 13. The Final Cut: Summary and Conclusion.