Identities in Pain

Pain and illness make people experience themselves and the world with greater intensity. IDENTITIES IN PAIN discusses both physical and mental pain from a range of anthropological, ethnnological and sociological perspectives. This book examines case histories of people suffering unendurable pain, of those trying to come to grips with psychosomatic disorders, mental illnesses, physical handicaps, of children exposed to traumatic experiences, and patients living with leprosy. These studies are used as the focal point for discussion of pain and its role in modern society.