The psychiatric hospital and the social construction of insanity in the framework of Modernity

Abstract

This article addresses the psychiatric hospital as a phenomenon of modernity, focusing on the Salpêtrière Hospital as a case study. It is based on the theories of Michel Foucault about madness and control technologies,
demonstrating how these institutions are interrelated with modern ideas and subjectivities. The methodology is qualitative and descriptive, and the analysis is expected to reveal how hospital practices have influenced the social construction of insanity. This study contributes to a deeper
understanding of the dynamics of power and control in mental health treatment.

Keywords: Hospital de la Salpêtrière, France, Modernity, Foucault,
Madness