Power Structures in the Age of Sanatoria : A digital examination of historical patient experience in Mörsil, Sweden

Sammanfattning

Introduction. This thesis examines historical patients’ experiences of staying in sanatoria in Mörsil, Sweden, with a special focus on power structures within the institution. This thesis project is simultaneously a scholarly digital humanities inquiry using digitised sources as the material of study, and a hands-on digital humanities project in the form of a digital archive containing the materials examined in this study. Previous research suggests that there is a need to nuance the modern narrative about patients in sanatoria, and that studying patients’ own accounts is one way to do this. Method. Letters, brochures, programs, and newspaper articles and notices were studied in this thesis. Handwritten materials were automatically transcribed using the artificial intelligence tool Transkribus Lite. Omeka.net was used to publish the digitised collection online. A qualitative conventional content analysis was used to aid interpretation and processing of the study’s materials. Analysis. This study used Foucault’s (1995) theory of discipline to analyse patients’ own stories, and printed materials from the sanatoria, in order to examine the presence of power imbalances. Results. The results of this study show many varied signs of institutionalised discipline. They also provide insight into patients’ experiences at the sanatoria related to medical treatments and sanatoria practices. Conclusion. This study concludes that studying patients’ stories can provide unique insight into the practices, treatments, and the patient experience in sanatoria. This knowledge contributes to nuancing the modern view on sanatoria and its patients.