Joseph E Davis

Professor and Chair, University of Virginia

Joseph E Davis is research professor of sociology and chair of the Picturing the Human Colloquy at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. His latest book is Chemically Imbalanced: Everyday Suffering, Medication, and Our Troubled Quest for Self-Mastery (2020).

Written by Joseph E Davis

Photo of a tattooed barber trimming a man’s hair in a striped cape, with a reflection in the mirror.

THE SELF

When your authenticity is an act, something’s gone wrong

Authenticity has changed from an inward gaze to a social display. Can we reconcile the performance with the real thing?

by Joseph E Davis

Black and white photo of a person with a backpack standing in front of a textured glass surface, appearing to look through it.

STIGMA AND TABOO

Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress

The ‘chemical imbalance’ trope is appealing but dehumanising, and has heightened stigma towards people with mental illness

by Joseph E Davis