Simfonije neuroze kroz prizmu europske modernosti i institucionalne moći nad ljudskim tijelom: tretman mentalnih bolesnika iz Bosne i Hercegovine (1878. – 1914.)
Symphonies of Neurosis through the Lens of European Modernity and Institutional Power over the Human Body: The Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878-1914)

Summary/Abstract: Although developed partly in opposition to one another and grounded in distinct conceptual frameworks, Whiggish and Foucauldian approaches to the history of psychiatry intersect and complement each other in addressing the treatment of mentally ill persons in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia. As part of the cultural-civilizational mission undertaken by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy after the Congress of Berlin, the modernization of healthcare in the “backward Ottoman province” became a key objective. The progress and institutional development of psychiatry, central to the Whiggish narrative, are evident in the authorities’ efforts to modernize psychiatric services in the region, guided by the belief that care for the mentally ill marked a nation’s level of civilization. This initiative was accompanied by the implementation of various forms of European modernity. Beyond being an unavoidable element in realizing the modernization project, the mentally ill were also a significant tool in achieving the Monarchy’s economic and ideological goals. Foucault’s thesis that political systems use the institution of the psychiatric asylum to neutralize what “opposes the virtues of society” and to achieve economic gain proves equally applicable to the treatment of mentally ill patients in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reports from psychiatric institutions, together with contemporary professional writings on various mental disorders, show that undesirable behaviours, deviating from prevailing traditional and patriarchal norms, were an integral part of psychiatric diagnoses. In this way, psychiatric institutions were officially granted authority over the control of the bodies of mentally ill individuals. In addition to re-education, instilling “good behaviour,” and general rehabilitation, the task of psychiatric institutions, judging by discharge records and reports from the Stenjevec asylum administration, was to instil habits of labour and discipline in hospitalized and observed individuals. In the context of achieving economic gain in a “semi-colonial province” such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was crucial for the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to produce diligent, responsible, and productive subjects who would support the realization of these objectives.

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