Background to conference:
The work of Peter Sedgwick and in particular his classic text PsychoPolitics (1982) has a renewed relevance in the context of ‘austerity’, the privatisation of welfare provision and emergent forms of radical activism in mental health. This conference will provide an opportunity to explore Sedgwick’s ideas and assess his legacy in light of these contemporary developments. 
The conference themes will include (but are not limited to):
• The politics of mental health
• Social movements in mental health; social movements and sociological knowledge on mental health
• Alliances between service user/survivor movements and trade unions/anti-austerity campaigns
• Alliances between disabled people’s and mental health service user/survivor movements
• Mental health practice and resistance under neoliberalism
• Contemporary applications of Sedgwick’s ideas
• Links between mad studies, disability studies and the work of Sedgwick
The conference webpages are at www.hope.ac.uk/psychopoliticsc21. The email for mailing list and further info is: sedgwickconf2015@hope.ac.uk
We invite proposals and look forward to seeing you at the conference.
