Part 6/14:
A key theme Rosen explores is how societal narratives about mental illness have been constructed—and deconstructed—by philosophical movements and cultural attitudes. He draws heavily on Michel Foucault's concept that madness is a social construct used historically to marginalize and imprison those who deviate from social norms. Rosen, who studied these ideas as a graduate student, argues that although Foucault’s critique revealed abuses, it overly romanticized madness as merely a product of societal oppression.