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
The self
idea
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
Stigma and taboo
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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