Book

Bengali conceptions of mental illness

University MicrofilmsAnn Arbor, Mich.Published In 1992 • Pages:

By: Bhattacharyya, Deborah Poole, Poole, Deborah.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This dissertation, written as a contribution to the growing literature in ethnopsychiatry, examines Bengali folk concepts of mental illness. Bhattacharyya's research on this subject employs a theoretical orientation based on the sociology of knowledge of Alfred Schutz, used in combination with the author's ethnographic methodological design. 'The primary aim of the study is to delineate the meaning of the psychiatric domain in Bengali culture phenomenologically or from the point of the actors themselves' (p. 1). In general, the research as presented here, explores the relationship between knowledge and social behavior. Social activity is analyzed '…within the psychiatric domain and the knowledge which exists as the emergent social product of that activity' (pp. 19-20). This knowledge is then analyzed in terms of those ethnopsychiatric theories that form an integral part of the internal structure of the psychiatric domain and which places that domain within the socio-cultural context.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Reviews and critiques
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Observation in research
Interviewing in research
Organization and analysis of results of research
Personality disorders
Invalidism
Sickness
Theory of disease
Sorcery
Magical and mental therapy
Shamans and psychotherapists
Revelation and divination
Ethnopsychology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Bengali
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2002
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
South Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Sociologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1992
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1975-1976 [p. 29]
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1975-76
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Deborah P. Bhattacharyya
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Indiana University, 1981
UM: AAC8119041
Bibliography: p. 286-299. Includes glossary.
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Bengalis