Date of Award
Summer 2024
Degree Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Cultural Studies, PhD
Program
School of Arts and Humanities
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Darrell Moore
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
David Luis-Brown
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Kimberly Drake
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Rights Information
© 2024 Sarah Jane
Keywords
community activism, disability studies, love, mad studies, minor literature, trauma studies
Subject Categories
Disability Studies | Psychology | Social Work
Abstract
"Madly in Love" contends that madness is not merely a condition to be pathologized buta 'supernatural' universal energy that transcends realms, moving through and around all bodies and leaving profound bio-physiological imprints. This dissertation introduces the concept of neo- madness, which recognizes the intricate interplay between this ethereal energy and the corporeal, reshaping our understanding of mental health. This work calls for a radical reimagining of how we witness, honor, and engage with madness by adopting a neo-mad love discourse, methodology, and pedagogy. It centers critical love, a blend of empathy, compassion, and active critical engagement, as essential to creating sustainable justice movements. Through community workshops and events, this dissertation explores practical interventions and collective experiences, advocating for an inclusive and humanistic approach to madness that challenges the colonial, capitalist, and sanist frameworks that have historically marginalized mad voices. Rooted in the works of scholars and activists like James Baldwin, bell hooks, Lamarr Jurelle Bruce, and Therí A. Pickens, "Madly in Love" culminates in the introduction of the Mad Liberation Movement, a manifesto, and a call to action for building a neo-mad community grounded in radical love and collective liberation. "Madly in Love" is both a manifesto and a call to action.
ISBN
9798346863069
Recommended Citation
Jane, Sarah. (2024). Madly in Love: A Meditation on the Capacity of Love and Madness. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 907. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/907.
Included in
Disability Studies Commons, Psychology Commons, Social Work Commons