In 1981, Toronto activist Mel Starkman wrote: "An important new movement is sweeping through the western world.... The 'mad,' the oppressed, the ex-inmates of society's asylums are coming together and speaking for themselves." Mad Matters brings together the writings of this vital movement, which has grown explosively in the years since. With contributions from scholars in numerous disciplines, as well as activists and psychiatric survivors, it presents diverse critical voices that convey the lived experiences of the psychiatrized and challenges dominant understandings of "mental illness." The connections between mad activism and other liberation struggles are stressed throughout, making the book a major contribution to the literature on human rights and anti-oppression. Reviews and Comments "This book is a much needed addition to the field of Disability Studies." Nancy Hansen, University of Manitoba "This reader fills a clear gap in Canadian scholarship. It will, in my view, put Mad Studies 'on the map' and open this important area of study to a much larger audience. It will be particularly useful for senior undergraduate and graduate students but also brings together a disparate body of literature that will be useful to specialists in the field and to those who teach Disabilities, Mad Studies, and Social History." Thomas E. Brown, Mount Royal University About the Editors: Brenda A. LeFrançois is Associate Professor of Social Work at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Robert Menzies Robert Menzies is Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University. Geoffrey Reaume is Associate Professor of Critical Disability Studies at York University.
| 
