Dr Cerys Knighton was awarded a PhD at Cardiff University in the social history of medicine, funded by SWW-DTP. Her thesis, 'Classifying a Manic-Depressive Illness' researched the historic medical and cultural identity of bipolar disorder.

 

Cerys analysed archival medical writing, visual representations, and literary texts from the nineteenth century. Her research examined developments in diagnostic categories, forms and places of psychiatric treatment, and cultural perceptions of patients. The artwork drawn from this research seeks a space for reflection: looking at how medical categories and representations have evolved to reflect on current societal attitudes towards bipolarity.