In recognition of their expertise on the emerging topic of Mad Studies, doctoral candidate Jersey Cosantino is among the editors of a new collection of essays exploring higher education and mental health.
Mad Studies and Education: Critical Pedagogy and Mad Praxis in the Classroom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026) examines the growing emphasis on mental health initiatives in educational institutions from a Mad Studies perspective.
At a time when educators are increasingly asked to take responsibility for the mental health of students, this edited collection critiques the processes of surveillance and exclusion that can accompany such endeavors. Instead of considering madness as something to be overcome, its authors ask what madness and Mad Studies can bring to the field of education and educational institutions.
This book argues that Mad Studies has important critiques of the current neoliberal state of education and schooling and that educational institutions are not benevolent in their efforts to both eliminate madness and Mad people. The collection argues that educational institutions are actively involved in processes of surveilling and excluding and/or pushing out educators and students who experience mental illness.
This edited collection provides a space for critical scholars and practitioners/educators to theorize how madness might push the very limits of education. It will appeal in particular to those working in the fields of psychology, education, disability studies, and social work.
In addition to contributing to the introductory essay—”Bridging Mad Studies and Education Through Praxis“—Cosantino also co-authored the chapter, “Mad Duo-Ethnographic Poetics in Education: A Rhizomatic Exploration of Educational Encounters.”
Joining Cosantino on the book’s editorial team are Mark A. Castrodale, Ph.D., Student Accessibility Case Manager, Brock University, Canada; Professor Adam Davies, University of Guelph, Canada; and Lauren Spring, Ph.D., Teaching and Learning Consultant, Conestoga College, Canada.