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Lennard Davis

Chronicling a History of Obsession

In his new book, Lennard Davis points out that while obsessive behavior was originally considered the result of demonic possession, obsessive behavior related to work or hobbies is now admired, while compulsively washing hands or avoiding lines on the sidewalk is a dreaded condition.

Obsession: A History (University of Chicago Press, 2008) follows the progression of obsessive behavior from its religious and secular origins to its present status as a medical and cultural phenomenon.

There has been a sharp rise in diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, says Davis, citing a 600-fold increase over the past 30 years.

"I want readers to see that psychological diseases have, at least, one long and very significant taproot in culture and society," says Davis, professor of English, disability and human development, and medical education. "Something like obsessive-compulsive disorder isn’t just a purely clinical entity, but participates in a complex set of social, cultural, political and professional issues."

Davis, well-known for his disability, literary and cultural studies, was inspired to explore obsession while conducting research on the difference between literary characters from the 18th and 19th centuries.

He found that many characters in works by authors such as Poe, Dostoevsky, Zola, Balzac and Dickens, were obsessed. He set out to investigate the origin of the word and pinpoint the era when people began to talk about or label others as being obsessed.

The mid-19th century in England and France was the tipping point, he found. "Monomania was the operative term, and the more I researched this I began to see that it was a diagnosis that had a popular appeal. It seemed to be a hallmark of modernity—both in culture and in the rise of the professions and specialization."

Davis says it is important to remember that diseases have histories that are relevant to the way they are considered today.

"Psychological diseases can be the dark sister to the qualities a culture upholds—in this case, doing or thinking one thing too much can make you famous, or can put you on Prozac, and sometimes both," he says. "We should always be careful to remember that the line between normality and pathology is a tenuous one, even when we try to make a firewall between them."

Of his own obsessions, he says he tries to engage only "the constructive ones."

For Psychology Today, Davis has recently started a blog, "Obsessively Yours," to explore "the social and cultural roots of personality and its disorders." Axl Rose’s 15-year recording project, the fainting women at Obama rallies, and the emergence of sex addiction have been among his recent topics.

Adapted from a UIC News article by Brian Flood, November 12, 2008.