Societies Running Out of Steam? Neoliberalism and Mental Illness

Seminar Readings:

Ehrenberg, Alain, The Weariness of the Self: Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age (Montreal et al.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010 (reprint 2013), Introduction and Chapter 7: Neoliberal affect and the Care of the Self; A society ‘out of gas’

Wilson, Julie, Neoliberalism (…) (2018), Chapter 5: The Moods of Enterprise: Neoliberal Affect and the Care of the Self (2018), pp. 150-181.

Cabanas, Edgar, “Psytizens”, or the construction of happy individuals in neoliberal societies’, in Eva Illouz (ed.), Emotions as Commoditites: Capitalism, Consumption, and Authencity (2017), pp. 173-176

 

Further Readings:

Sam Binkley, Happiness as Enterprise: An Essay on Neoliberal Life (New York: State University, 2024

Case A, Deaton A., Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism (Princeton University Press, 2020)

Davies J. The Sedated Society: The Causes and harms of our Psychiatric Drug Epidemic. (London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2017)

Ehrenreich, Barbara, Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World. London: Granta Books, 2009)

Esposito L, Perez FM. Neoliberalism and the Commodification of Mental Health. Humanity & Society. 2014;38(4):414–442.

 James, O, The selfish capitalist: Origins of affluenza (Vermilion, 2008)

Jones, C.S, Post-pandemic pressures in UK higher education, 2025Frontiers

https://www.frontiersin.org › articles › pdf

Maiese, Michelle, Neoliberalism and Mental Health Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education (online)

Montbiot, George, Why is Britain's Mental Health so Incredibly Poor? It's Because our Soceity is spiralling backwards - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/10/britain-mental-health-society-neoliberalism-politicians

Winters, Lori, Undermining the Value of Social Engagement: The Role of Neoliberalism in the Student Mental Health Crisis, MA thesis - online