Andrew T. Scull (born 1947) is a British-born
sociologist who researches the
social history of medicine
The Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM) was established in 1970. It is known for its peer-reviewed journal ''Social History of Medicine'' and the three book series it has sponsored, Studies in the Social History of Medicine (1989-200 ...
and the
history of psychiatry. He is a distinguished professor of sociology and science studies at
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
, and recipient of the
Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contributions to the history of medicine. His books include ''
Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine'', ''Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity'', and ''
Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness''.
Life and career
Scull was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, the son of Allan Edward Scull, a civil engineer and Marjorie ''née'' Corrigan, a college teacher. He received his BA with first-class honors from
Balliol College, Oxford. He then studied at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
, receiving his MA in sociology in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1974. He was a postdoc at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = � ...
in 1976–77.
[Peacock, Scot (ed.) (2003)]
"Scull, Andrew, 1947"
''Contemporary Authors New Revision Series''. Gale Group. Online version retrieved via Highbeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headq ...
26 December 2016 (subscription required).
Scull taught at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
from 1973 until 1978, when he was appointed to the sociology faculty at University of California, San Diego, as an associate professor. He was appointed a full professor in 1982, and distinguished professor in 1994.
Books
Scull's first book, ''Decarceration: Community Treatment and the Deviant – A Radical View'' was published in 1977 by
Prentice-Hall. A revised version of his Princeton doctoral dissertation, ''Museums of Madness: The Social Organization of Insanity in 19th Century England'', was published in 1979 by
Allen Lane (London) and
St. Martin's Press (New York). Scull's later books include ''
Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine'' (Yale University Press, 2005); ''Hysteria: The Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2009);,''Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity'' (Princeton
University Press, 2015).
Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness (The Belknap Press, 2022).
2009 Letter to the UC Regents
In the summer of 2009, Scull authored a letter to the University of California Regents that called for reallocation of funding from the Riverside, Santa Cruz, and Merced campuses to make up for budget shortfalls at what he deemed "higher tiered" campuses, stating that rather than being research heavy institutions and thus draws for grant and philanthropic moneys, "UCSC, UCR and UC Merced are in substantial measure teaching institutions” and that "
we don't do this, we will end up with a bunch of mediocre U.C.'s instead of great U.C.'s." Then UC President
Mark Yudoff
Mark George Yudof (born October 30, 1944) is an American law professor and academic administrator. He is a former president of the University of California (2008-2013), former chancellor of the University of Texas System (2002–2008), and former ...
dismissed the proposal outright in a statement released to all UC campus chancellors, but not before critics noted the demographic differences between UCSD and the campuses Scull and his 22 co-signatories targeted.
[ABC30 (9 December 2011)]
"Proposal to Close the UC Merced Campus"
'' KFSN-TV''. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
Notes
References
External links
How I Became a Historian of Psychiatry: Andrew Scull(historypsychiatry.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scull, Andrew
Living people
University of California, San Diego faculty
History of psychiatry
1947 births
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Princeton University alumni