Integrating space into a reactive theory of the asylum: evidence from post-Civil War Georgia

Absent from the geographical literature on the 19th century asylum is a reactive theory of social control. Such an approach focuses on the importance that families and communities of the insane played in guiding institutionalization. Thus far, reactive theory has emphasized how social distance within communities shaped public reaction to mental illness and hence the admission decision. Unfortunately, it ignores the importance of spatial distance from the asylum in molding utilization patterns. Using evidence from asylum admissions in post-Civil War Georgia, this paper explores the necessity of adopting a reactive theory and the even greater necessity of integrating space into reactive theory. Such a project requires going beyond traditional treatments of spatial distance as a geometric barrier and examining the politics of distance, that is, how the meaning of journey to the asylum was open to competing and conflicting constructions.