The Hysteric as Conceptual Operator

While in Paris and Vienna around 1900, the hysterical girl was a well-studied object in arts and sciences, she re-appeared, a hundred years later, in countless manifestations in US mainstream horror films. The female hysteric in these current narratives references strikingly established representations of the hysteric as (public) performer that go back well beyond the European studies of the nineteenth century. It is interesting that while in 1994 the medical term hysteria was struck from the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it simultaneously reappeared as Histrionic Personality Disorder (Latin: histrio, actor/actress). This rebranding just further underlines my point: the female hysteric is therefore diagnosed as performer. Given this reintroduction, one may assume that the self-reflective media figure of the female hysteric will continue to gain ground in its cultural impact. Although the history and evolution of the representation of hysteria have been extensively researched (Veith 1965, Gilman 1982, Shorter 1986, Micale 1995, Showalter 1997, Didi-Huberman 2003, Skull 2009, Cross 2010, Hustvedt 2011), the study of how these discourses have been transferred to twenty- first-century US popular culture is still uncharted territory. My projects main focus is the way in which the current popular figure intervenes, gets involved in and performs individual sociopolitical discourse strands. Therefore my project is located on the intersection of hysteria, cultural, (American) horror film and performance studies. While building on feminist horror film scholarship (Creed 1993, Clover 1993) this project is advocating for an expansion of the theoretical toolbox in analyzing women in horror film. Michel Foucaults discourse analysis provides me with the necessary critical tools to analyze the hysterics performance from the twin perspectives of cultural studies and philosophy. Specific discourse strains will furthermore be analyzed using the necessary theoretical equipment (e.g. of gender, post-colonial, disabilities studies). Furthermore, as a result of performance studies being a paradigm-driven field, my project is divided into two research stages: During the first phase, I will follow the hysterics performance as object of inquiry. In the course of a classic film methodology of close analysis, I will analyze the diverse discourse strands of the current representation from a cultural studies perspective and will be able to put the current phenomenon in its (historical) context. In the second phase, I will expand my research scope and focus on performance studies as a primary analytical concept. The emerging field of Performance Philosophy will provide my project with the necessary philosophical tools to analyze in- depth the hysterics performance.

This postdoctoral research project has investigated how the hysterical girl-a well-studied object in European, especially Austrian, arts and sciences around 1900-re-appeared, a hundred years later, in countless manifestations in highly successful contemporary US American horror films. The project traced how the hysteric was understood through the centuries as a public performer whose hysterical "episodes" are clearly defined and understood in the realms of performance; and that said performances staged and discussed significant political discourses of their time. The first research phase of this project was focused on demonstrating the historical connection of hysteria and the performing arts and then discuss those findings on a selection of the most successful US horror films of the past ten years, which are summarized under the umbrella term Possession Film (Clover 1992), and of which generally The Exorcist (Warner Bros., 1973) is seen as the originator. The main research question was: how do those films reference hysteria in evident ways and what do the hysterics communicate in their sensational performances? Through the analysis of the material, it became clear that these productions were eager to put the hysteric center stage and evidently drew much inspiration from the historical material-even featuring the iconic pose of the arc-en-circle on many of the promotional posters. During the close reading, the hysteric's politically charged and highly popular performance and its discussion around pressing issues of disability were prevailing and at the core of the material. The films interestingly echoed specific and timely public health care debates, while also promoting stereotypical and stigmatizing images of mental and physical impairment. The hysteric's excessive performance in these films provides interesting insights into current public discourses around disability rights and "madness". The second part of this project then focused on performance studies as a primary analytical concept and contextualized hysteria within a critical self-reflexive (embodied) research practice. The emerging field of Mad studies as a critical tool to discuss the triangle of hysteria, disability studies, and a self-reflexive (performative) writing practice, proofed highly productive to analyze the research question at hand. Through various events and presentations, this project brought together a diverse group of experts to test, discuss, and disseminate the research findings. In the course of this project two conferences and several events were organized, two peer-review volumes, and in total six peer-reviewed papers published (three more were submitted to significant journals in the field by the end of the project). In addition, two exhibitions were curated and images atlases presented in four exhibitions that show the historical material side by side with the current depictions of hysteria in visual media in general and the Possession film in particular; providing an insightful visualization of the research findings.