Angela Woods, Lecturer in Medical Humanities, Durham University, UK

Angela Woods is a Lecturer in Medical Humanities at Durham University. She is an interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of cultural theory, literary studies, and philosophy. Her research interests include the study of theoretical and subjective accounts of psychotic experience, narrative identity, and the role of narrative in the medical humanities.

"I enjoyed reading this book and getting perspectives on schizophrenia different than those I encountered during residency and from psychiatric textbooks which focus primarily on biological theories. I have read various books on the history of psychiatry that included psychoanalytic perspectives on various psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia, none went into as much detail or covered the modern response of early writings like this one does." - Doody's

"The work offers an extensive, worthwhile and informative analysis of the relationship between schizophrenia, postmodern culture and society. Furthermore, it successfully positions itself as the leading elucidation of the tendency among cultural theorists to normalize schizophrenia and pathologize 'normal' subjectivity." - Kieran McNally, History of Psychiatry

"This is a compelling book. It draws widely and is full of novel ideas and interpretations. It definitely shows how varied and disparate are the uses and understandings of the term 'schizophrenia'. It ought to be read, if only to appreciate the cultural history of the term 'schizophrenia'." - Femi Oyebode, British Journal of Psychiatry

"I want to do this complex book justice. It is a very bold project to combine clinical and cultural theory so extensively in answering a question that has generally been ignored about why postmodern theory references schizophrenia...If you're interested in the links between the postmodern notion of 'schizophrenia' and cultural theory, read this book. I think this book should be discussed more widely." - Duncan Double, Metapsychology Online Reviews

"This is a compelling book. It draws widely and is full of novel ideas and interpretations. It definitely shows how varied and disparate are the uses and understandings of the term schizophrenia. It ought to be read, if only to appreciate the cultural history of the term schizophrenia." - British Journal of Psychiatry

"a fascinating journey through the way in which schizophrenia, as a clinical category, cultural metaphor and literary motif, has been mobilized over the past 100 or so years, attempting to demonstrate how and why it holds such non-medical fascination." - Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Feb 2013