Université Paris Nanterre will host the international conference “Who Cares? Psychiatry in the English-Speaking World: Circulations & Transfers” on 4–6 March 2027. This scholarly gathering explores the transnational movement of clinical ideas, therapeutic practices, institutional models, and caregiving personnel in mental health and the history of psychiatry and nursing from the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century.

Circulations and Transfers in Mental Health Care

As the third and culminating event in an acclaimed conference cycle—succeeding “People and Places” and “Theories and Policies”—this edition turns its analytical focus towards the dynamic mobility of psychiatric knowledge and care. The symposium invites researchers to examine how concepts, institutions, and clinical regimens crossed geographic, linguistic, and cultural boundaries across English-speaking countries.

Scholars addressing the intersection of psychiatric medicine, attendant care, and the history of psychiatry and nursing will find this forum especially pertinent. The circulation of asylum staffing structures, attendant training, nursing practices, and patient experiences formed an indispensable conduit for the international transfer of psychiatric methodologies. Alongside broader research announcements published in the EAHN Bulletin, this conference offers a vital platform for interrogating how mental health care evolved through cross-border dialogue and adaptation.

Thematic Scope and Chronological Breadth

Proposals may address any period ranging from medieval custodial and therapeutic arrangements to the late-twentieth-century era of deinstitutionalisation and community mental health care. Key areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to:

• Transnational mobility of medical, psychological, and nursing personnel.
• Transfer, translation, and adaptation of diagnostic frameworks and therapeutic interventions.
• Migration of institutional blueprints, asylum architecture, and administrative reforms.
• Cross-border dissemination of patient advocacy, professional standards, and welfare policies.

Those working across comparative frameworks are also encouraged to review complementary perspectives catalogued across our curated articles archive and upcoming international events.

Submission Guidelines and Practical Information

The conference committee invites submissions for 20-minute individual paper presentations delivered in English.

Proposal Requirements

• Abstract: Approximately 250 words outlining the research question, historiographical framework, primary sources, and methodology.
• Biographical Note: A concise academic biography and institutional affiliation.
• Document Format: Both abstract and biography must be combined into a single Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx).

Key Dates and Contact

• Conference Dates: 4–6 March 2027
• Host Institution: Université Paris Nanterre, France
• Submission Deadline: 20 September 2026
  (Please note: Organisers have indicated that this deadline will be extended. Prospective participants should consult the official portal for updated timelines).
• Submission Email: Proposals should be sent directly to whocaresconference@gmail.com.
• Full Call & Selected Bibliography: For further particulars and recommended historiographical reading, consult the Who Cares? Conference Official Hypotheses Platform.