Social History of Medicine Advance Access published online on March 11, 2008
Social History of Medicine, doi:10.1093/shm/hkm117
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Ethnicity, Migration and the Lunatic Asylum in Early Twentieth-Century Auckland, New Zealand
* Professor of Scottish and Irish History, Department of History, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. Email: angela.mccarthy{at}otago.ac.nz
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Abstract |
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Summary In recent years, scholars have utilised patient case-books to unearth the social experience of the lunatic asylum, particularly with reference to gendered dimensions and the role of the family. Where migration is considered, the focus is on whether or not mobility led to higher rates of committal. In other studies where place of birth is included as a category of analysis, no cross-referencing exists with other elements such as gender, marital status or religious affiliation. Instead, class and gender, rather than ethnicity, are the defining categories. This paper is a preliminary attempt to rectify this manifest neglect. It is based on information relating to 389 foreign-born migrants committed to the Auckland asylum between 1903 and 1910. The paper has two main objectives. First, it attempts to ascertain the key demographic features of the asylum's migrant population. What were their origins, gender and religion? How long had they been in New Zealand and what can we glean about their migration strategies and networks? Second, the analysis focuses on a number of issues pertaining to ethnicity. What do the case-books reveal about ties to place of origin, language and inter-ethnic relations? A broad conclusion addresses the complicated issue of analysing subjective versus objective perceptions and representations of migration and ethnicity, and establishes the benefit and significance of adopting a comparative approach to the study of migration and ethnic identities.
Keywords: migration; ethnicity; identity; lunatic asylum; Auckland; case-books; early twentieth century