Psychedelic Renaissance
The making of a 'psychedelic renaissance' in Britain
Himesh Mehta, PhD candidate, History
My PhD thesis explores the twenty-first century 'renaissance' of neuroscientific, psychotherapeutic, and cultural interests in psychedelic drugs, with a focus on Britain. It explores how the eclectic community that makes up the psychedelic movement is caught up in a maelstrom of macro-structural and historical forces surrounding the growing influence of neuroscience and neoliberalism.
Throughout my research, I will undertake oral history interviews to understand the ways in which narratives around the new optimism surrounding psychedelic drugs elucidate a shift in notions of the individual, and whether these notions surpass those typically associated with modernity and postmodernity. I will be interviewing neuroscientists, policymakers, activists, pharmaceutical professionals, academics, and venture capitalists. In some ways, my project is an oral history ‘from above’ and thus challenges some of the methodological boundaries that have regulated the use of oral history in the British context.