Josephine (Elsa) Selander

Elsa Josephine Selander (Dr Sc ETH, Zurich) is a researcher in the History of Medicine. Her research concerns how science and knowledge are produced across geographical, discursive and disciplinary boundaries. Her particular research focus is on the History of Psychology, the History of Emotions, the Cultural History of media and publics, and Global History.

Her postdoctoral project, Mind-cures at the Margins: Forming Transcultural Psychology in the Global Age, 1916 – 2020, conducted by prof. Laurence Monnais, examines how Western approaches to mental illness have evolved through the incorporation of Asian religious practices, particularly in response to the growing prevalence of anxiety and depression. Against the background of globalization, health crises and the increasing medicalization of life, the project traces the development of psychological self-help techniques that blend psychology with South and Southeast Asian spiritual traditions. These "mind-cures" have become popular tools for navigating mental health challenges - from personal self-optimization to public health interventions.

Focusing on three psy-disciplines – analytical psychology, humanistic psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – the study examines how Asian contemplative practices have been integrated into psychological practices in Switzerland, the USA and India. The research highlights how locally rooted but globally interconnected places, such as educational centers and spiritual hubs, have played a critical role in shaping new psychological insights. It traces how practices such as mindfulness, originally linked to spiritual healing, have morphed into mental health treatments.

The project emphasizes the "epistemic trading zones" where knowledge from different cultures meet. By analyzing these exchanges, the project examines how Western psychology has simultaneously "scientificized" Asian spiritual traditions and "spiritualized" psychological techniques, shedding light on the co-production of European-American-Asian knowledge.

This study draws on the increasing presence of Asian religious practices, particularly mindfulness, in the global public health paradigm. It also highlights the commercialization of self-help techniques, often marketed as ancient "Eastern wisdom," and how these practices navigate contemporary challenges such as neoliberalism and overmedicalization.

Josephine is also affiliated as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at the Centre for Medical Humanities at the Department of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University.