“Mad” Activism and its (Ghanaian?) Future: A Prolegomena to Debate

This paper explores how scholars continuing within, or expanding on, Goffmanian tradition have, to varying degrees, given grit to the praxis and study of (new?) social movements today. Particular emphasis is put on the politics of madness, including the writings of anti-psychiatrists, as well as the recent emergence of Mad Pride, and how these might relate to human rights advocacy projects in Ghana. The discussion draws on semi-structured and qualitative interviews with “mad” activists, and is interspersed with personal anecdotes as an effort to map the author’s sinuous – yet continuous – path to an “engaged sociology.”