Red Medicine

Nadia Abu El-Haj: A Brief History of Militarism, Psychiatry and PTSD

Episode Summary

Nadia Abu El Haj describes the history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and what it reveals about psychiatry, American imperialism and anti-war politics. She tracks PTSD’s shifting status in medical discourse from Vietnam war veteran 'rap groups' through to its depoliticized iteration in the 21st century. Nadia Abu El-Haj is Ann Whitney Olin Professor in the Departments of Anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University and a recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship. She is the author of Combat Trauma: Imaginaries of War and Citizenship in post-9/11 America Twitter: @red_medicine__ www.redmedicine.xyz Soundtrack by Mark Pilkington

Episode Notes

Nadia Abu El Haj describes the history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and what it reveals about psychiatry, American imperialism and anti-war politics. She tracks PTSD’s shifting status in medical discourse from Vietnam war veteran 'rap groups' through to its depoliticized iteration in the 21st century.

Nadia Abu El-Haj is Ann Whitney Olin Professor in the Departments of Anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University and a recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship. She is the author of Combat Trauma: Imaginaries of War and Citizenship in post-9/11 America

 

Twitter: @red_medicine__

www.redmedicine.xyz

Soundtrack by Mark Pilkington