Mad studies is an umbrella term – spanning a field of scholarship and activism.
It foregrounds the lived experience of people who may identify as mad, mentally ill, psychiatric survivors, consumers, service users, patients, neurodiverse or disabled. As a field, Mad Studies is both ‘new’ and a continuation of previous radical scholarship in the mental health field – both in the UK and in other parts of the world. The purpose and direction of Mad Studies is still evolving, and different scholars have different emphases and priorities.
