FYS 121- The Evolution and Transformation of the Northampton State Hospital

Tom Riddell
College Hall 23
x4910
triddell@smith.edu
www.smith.edu/nsh

Course Objectives/Assignments and Due Dates/Outline and Syllabus/Grading Weights/Other Movies/
Course Readings/Assignments/Research Possibilities/Assistance Possibilities/Northampton State Hospital Census

Course Objectives

Assignments and Due Dates

Everything is due on the date specified (unless you've personally arranged something with me ahead of time). Late assignments will be docked by one percentage point of the weight of the grade per day (maximum 5 days per week). For example, if the first essay counts 15% of your grade and it's a week late, it will be weighted as 10% of your grade.

You may resubmit written work for re-evaluation (within one week). There are three possible outcomes, gradewise plus half a grade, minus half a grade, or the same grade (e.g., from B to B+ or B- or B).

Outline and Syllabus

1. Orientation to the Course and to the Northampton State Hospital

September 8- Introduction, introductions, syllabus and assignments

September 11- A Virtual (and maybe real) Tour of Northampton State Hospital (or NSH) with maps

September 13- A Walking Tour of the Geology of the NSH Site and Location with John Brady, Department of Geology (meet at Lamont Bridge over the Mill River; wear good walking shoes and clothes; umbrella and rain gear maybe)

First essay due! (see "Assignments" below)

September 15,18,20- Oral presentations (see "Assignments")

September 18- Neilson Library as a Research Resource with Pam Skinner, Associate Reference Librarian

September 22- An in-class workshop on writing

September 25- Discussion on Background reading in course packet (see "Course readings"below, available at Paradise Copies)

September 27- A Closer Walking Tour of NSH
September 29- Neilson Library as a Research Resource with Pam Skinner,(meet in Neilson @ reference desk)
October 2- Discussion of possible projects for the seminar

Second essay due!

October 4- Video, "Place for Madness" (PBS Frontline, 1994)

2. The History of the Northampton State Hospital
October 6- Edward Jarvis, corner stone address; and Massachusetts Historical Commission, National Register Application for Massachusetts Hospital System in course packet, Historical context
October 9- Massachusetts Historical Commission, National Register Application for the Northampton State Hospital (course packet)
October 13- Continued discussion of the history of the state hospital
October 16,18- "The Snake Pit" (Twentieth Century Fox, 1948)
October 20- Discussion of possible projects

Project proposals due!

3. Deinstitutionalization and Hospital Workers

October 23- "The Life and Death of Northampton State Hospital" (Historic Northampton)
October 25 - "Life and Death" continued

4. Deinstitutionalization and the Community

October 27- Mental illness and Treatment/Services readings in course packet
October 30- Video, "The Road to Hope: Psychiatric Survivors Challenge the Stigma of Mental Illness" (Massachusetts Anti-Stigma Campaign)
November 1- Community impacts continued (also Homelessness and Shelters readings)

5. Planning and Redevelopment

November 3- Division of Capital Planning and Operations, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
"Request for Proposals" in Redevelopment the Transformation of the Northampton State Hospital in course packet
November 6- remainder of reading in Redevelopment section in course packet
November 8- redevelopment continued

Third essay due!

November 10,13- redevelopment continued
November 15- project status reports
November 17,18- A weekend of events commemorating the history of the hospital ("The State Hospital: In Memoriam"), beginning with a symposium, "Beyond Asylum: Transforming Mental Health Care," then a community forum, "State Hospital Testimony: A Moment of Oral History," and culminating in a musical installation, Habeus Corpus, in the Old Main Complex.

November 20- No Class!

November 22,24- Thanksgiving Break!!

6. Formal Reports on Projects!
November 27,29,December 1,4,6,8,11- In-class reports and possible other venue(s)

In-Class Presentations and Final Reports/Papers Due!

December 13 Wrap-up and Celebration!["One Flew over the CuckooÕs Nest" (in Northampton?) OR "King of Hearts"]

Grading Weights

First essay (due September 13) = ungraded
Oral presentation (September 15, 18, 20) = ungraded
Second essay (due October 2) = 15%
Project Proposal and "presentation (due Octoer 20) = ungraded
Third essay (due November 8) = 15%
Class attendance and participation(all semester) = 25%
Final project (due in December) -- written component = 25% and oral component = 20%

Other Movies--

The Dream Team
Cosi
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Harvey
In Dreams

FYS 121- The Evolution and Transformation of the Northampton State Hospital Course Readings

Background in course packet, available from Paradise Copies, 30 Crafts Avenue, Northampton.

Mark Cybulski, "State hospital bids due," Daily Hampshire Gazette, October 13, 1997 and accompanying material. _____, "History of NSH," from GazetteNet.
_____, "Other cities offer land reuse lessons," DHG, October 14, 1997 and accompanying pieces.
_____, "NSH bidders foresee range of uses," DHG, October 16, 1997 and acommpanying piece.
"The largest silk hosiery factory in the world," Five College Ink, Volume 10, Number 2, 1997-1998.
Nathanael Fortune and Craig Davis, "Engineering Smith's Future," a Smith 2020 proposal to Smith's self-study process, 1996-1997. Context, perspective, the big picture Alexander Astin, "Democracy at Work: What Higher Education Can Do," an address to the Eisenhower Leadership Program, Gettysburg College, 1996. Pamphlet courtesy of the President's Office, Gettysburg College. Historical context in course packet. Edward Jarvis, M.D., "Address Delivered at the Laying of the Corner Stone of the Insane Hospital at Northampton, Massachusetts," J. & L. Metcalf, 1856.

Massachusetts Historical Commission, "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Northampton State Hospital," September 1993. Prepared by Candace Jenkins.

Massachusetts Historical Commission, "National Register of Historic Places Application for Massachusetts Hospital and School System," August 1993. Prepared by Candace Jenkins.

 Deinstitutionalization and the workers

"The Life and Death of Northampton State Hospital: The Experience of Work in an Institution for the Mentally Ill," text by J. Michael Moore and photographs by Stan Sherer, Historic Northampton, 1994. Available from Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA.

Deinstitutionalization and the community in course packet.

                    Judson Brown, "Starpoint marks decade as club for mentally ill," DHG, November 10, 1997.
                    _____, "Springfield slayings hurry opening of women's program," DHG, February 19, 1998.
                    _____, "ArtistsÕ group wins DMH prize," DHG, May 11, 1998.
                    _____, "A caring voice for mentally ill," DHG, May 5, 1998.
 
                    Associated Press, "Mosers testify on mental illness," GazetteNet, August 6, 1998.

_____, "Facts about the illness," GazetteNet, August 6, 1998.
_____, "Options for families of patients," GazetteNet, August 6, 1998.
_____, "Security won't close gaps in care," GazetteNet, August 7, 1998.
Rebecca Macauley, "Making judgments," DHG, August 19, 1998.
Judson Brown, "Marchers urge action on homeless problem," DHG, November 12, 1997.
Judith Cameron, "Perennial concerns trouble Ward 3 residents," DHG, February 4, 1998.
Judson Brown, "Mayor backs use of DPW space for cot shelter," DHG, June 6, 1998.
Judith Cameron, "Cot shelter still seeks building," GazetteNet, July 27, 1998.
Greg Kerstetter, "Some decry shelter timetable on Hatfield St.," GazetteNet, August 13, 1998.
Larry Parnass, "Proposed shelter's neighbors gear for fight," DHG, August 14, 1998.
Greg Kerstetter, "Shelter site debate continues," GazetteNet, August 19, 1998.
Larry Parnass,"Debate rages over new shelter," GazetteNet, August 20, 1998.
_____, "Shelter questions at a glance," GazetteNet, August 20, 1998.
Celia Miller, "People need hand up, not thumbs down," DHG, August 20, 1998.
Jim Mias, "Not in my backyardÕ familiar battle cry," DHG, August 20, 1998.
Thomas Nagle, "City needs to factor in DPW expansion," DHG, August 20, 1998.
Rodney Kunath, "What about a shelter on Hospital Hill?," DHG, August 20, 1998.
John B. Emerson, "A location for the cot shelter," DHG, August 20, 1998.
Diedrick Snoek, "'Entirely wrong-headed,'" DHG, August 20, 1998.
"100 Smith students help out," DHG, April 13, 1998.
Judson Brown, "New director at Grove St. Inn," GazetteNet, August 1, 1998.
_____, "Shelter's building needs are many," GazetteNet, August 1, 1998.

Redevelopment: the Transformation of the Northampton State Hospital in course packet.

 "Request for Proposals, Redevelopment Opportunity, Northampton State Hospital," issued by the Division of Capital Planning and Operations, Office of Real Estate Management, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, April 16, 1997.
  • Decision on the Developer series of pieces from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Union News, etc. on the decision-making process.
  • Uses of the land and grounds
  • DHG pieces on athletic fields in Parcel C;
  • DHG pieces on filming "The Cider House Rules" (and "In Dreams") at NSH;
  • DHG pieces on the debate about the use of the hospital site.
 Assignments

First essay (due September 13 and ungraded)

The use of land is constantly changing and being developed all around us (e.g., shopping malls, schools, highways, housing, etc.). Of course, there are exceptions where land is intentionally protected from development (national, state and local parks; conservation and wildlife preserves; gardens, etc.). Describe an instance of a significant change in the use of land in your own experience/life and local environment. Also explain how you feel/felt about this change. 2-3 double-spaced pages.

Oral presentation (September 15,18,20 and ungraded)

Where are you from? What type of community is it? Describe its political, social, cultural, environmental, historical, etc. characteristics. Each of you will have approximately 4 minutes to make your presentation. Second essay (due October 2, 15% of your grade) What impressions do you have of the mentally ill? Where did these impressions come from? How should families, communities, and societies "deal with" mental illness? What are the arguments (moral, economic, social, political, cultural) for social responsibility for the treatment of the mentally ill? 3-4 pages. Project proposal and description (due October 20 and ungraded) For your projects, working by yourself or in a group, you can do research or you can develop an assisting relationship with a local entity involved in the consequences of deinstitutionalization or the redevelopment of the hospital site.

Write a statement about what you plan to do your project on for this seminar. What interests you and why? With whom will you be working? 1 page or so.

 Third essay (due November 8, 15% of your grade) Now that you have read some about the Northampton State Hospital and its history and have seen the site, what do you think should be done with the land and the buildings? Why? 3-4 pages. Final projects and presentations (due in December written portion = 25% of your grade and oral portion = 20%) To be determined! Written papers should be about 8-10 pages. Oral presentations should involve each of you and take about 10-15 minutes per person. Written material (etc.) due no later than December 11.
  • Research Possibilities
  • Are the Smith stables located on land formerly owned by the Northampton State Hospital?
  • What recollections of the state hospital do Smith faculty and alumnae have? Interviews? Solicitation of memories through the Smith Alumnae Quarterly?
  • What's in the Sophia Smith Collection and the College Archives regarding the hospital?
  • What was the relationship between the state hospital and the Smith College School for Social Work?
  • What material lurks in the Daily Hampshire Gazette morgue regarding the history of the hospital? Are there reproducible images?
  • There was an "auditorium" in the hospital. Where was it? What was it used for?
  • There was a pathology lab in Building #41. What was it used for? (Ask Margaret Anderson in the Biology Department.)
  • Thomas Kirkbride (Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane) was an important influence in the development of the hospital. Why?
  • Phillipe Pinel was a European influence. What were his contributions?
  • The Hampshire County Jail was built on former hospital land. When? Why?
  • The Thomas Farrer painting on the cover of the course packet was done from "the dome" of the hospital. The 1864 annual report for the hospital has a lithograph showing the "cupola" and "dome" on the top of the Old Main complex. But recent photographs (and inspection) show that it's not there any longer. When did it disappear and why?
  • The Main kitchen and dining room (cafeteria) in building #41 and most of the Memorial complex were built with Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration funds during the late 1920s and 1930s. What's the Depression-era background?
  • The legislative and judicial (court cases) histories that led to deinstitutionalization.
  • Locate Pliny Earle's essays on "The Curability of Insanity"; annual reports for the hospital; "The Northampton Book" by the Tercentenary Committee (1954); the Lozano and White 1982 report on planning the re-use of the hospital; and historical maps.
    •
  • Assistance Possibilities
  • The Northampton cot shelter program for temporary housing during the winter.
  • Grove Street Inn the city's homeless shelter on NSH property.
  • Safety Net a project of the Honor Court for women.
  • The developers Community Builders, Mt. Auburn Associates, the Valley Community Development Corporation.
  • The City of Northampton Department of Planning A new bridge over the Mill River? Is there a cemetery on the site (and where is it and what's its history)?
  • Historic Northampton what's in their collection?
  • Anchor House and the Starpoint Club (see course packet under "Deinstitutionalization and the community").
  • Other social service agencies serving the mentally ill population in the community.
    •      Northampton State Hospital Census

    Year         Patients         Staff 

    1858         228
    1863         334
    1870s     ~475
    1892         469                 85
    1903         657                 135
    1924         1,080
    1928         1,559              219
    1935         2,100              420
    1945         2,125              268
    1952         2,331              509
    1993         zero

    Sources: Massachusetts Historical Commission National Historic Register applications.




    Northampton State Hospital Bibliography
     
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