By exploring the significant role played by the medical superintendents of lunatic
asylums, there is a possibility of enriching our understanding and appreciation of
the varieties of asylum culture. Said differently, by investigating the tenure of a
superintendent, it is possible to highlight how the individual constructed an asylum
to embody a set of goals and principles. Along these lines, the study aims to
explore and investigate the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum, under the medical
superintendence of Dr Thomas Duncan Greenlees from 1890 to 1907. In order to
explore Greenlees’s priorities and primary topics, the asylum’s annual reports
provide a valuable resource. From the close examination of the annual reports
several key topics emerge. The examination of the topics is informed by recent
scholarship on moral therapy and Michel Foucault’s analysis of power.
Die bestudering van die beduidende rol wat mediese superintendente speel in
sielsiekegestige kan ons begrip van en waardering vir die verskillende vorms van
inrigtingkultuur verryk. Deur die ampstermyn van ’n superintendent te ondersoek,
kan vasgestel word hoe dié persoon ’n inrigting opbou om ’n stel oogmerke en
beginsels te beliggaam. Op hierdie grondslag beoog die studie ’n verkenning van
en ondersoek na die Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum onder dr Thomas Duncan
Greenlees as mediese superintendent van 1890 tot 1907. Die inrigting se
jaarverslae bied ’n waardevolle bron vir die verkenning van Greenlees se
prioriteite en primêre onderwerpe. By nadere ondersoek van die jaarverslae kom
verskeie belangrike onderwerpe na vore. Die bestudering van hierdie onderwerpe geskied aan die hand van onlangse navorsing oor morele terapie en Michel
Foucault se ontleding van mag.
