Inquiry: Lennard Davis - Obsession: A History

One person may spend their entire life thinking about nothing but sheep, while another may be a scientist who spends all their time studying sheep. One of those people is considered an obsessive neurotic while the other is considered an icon of research. Where is the line between the clinical diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and someone who just wants to avoid colds and flu by washing their hands often? Tonight on Inquiry we talk with LENNARD J. DAVIS, Professor in the Departments of English, Disability and Human Development and Medical Education at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Professor Davis will talk about the social and cultural history of obsession and the development of a bio-cultural view of this now widespread disorder.  Before the 1970s, OCD was hardly known yet today it allegedly affects one out of a hundred people. Is it a brain dysfunction? A genetic dysfunction? Or is it a product of societal pressures? What IS obsession? Professor Davis’ fascinating and controversial book is OBSESSION: A HISTORY.