We call mad people lots of names. Most of them are not meant to be complimentary. But what do mad people call themselves? Do they accept labels that others stick on them? Do they apply their own labels? Why might one person choose a different label than another? This is a short documentary in which 12 Toronto activists discuss how they identify themselves. Documentaries are one of Ryerson University's online learning tools, used by instructors to spark discussion in the online student forums. This documentary is a part of unique and engaging online course called 'Mad People's History' (CDST 504), developed by Digital Education Strategies at The Chang School and David Reville, an instructor with the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University.

This site provides titles and summaries of literature on the topic of mental health. Entries are submitted by members of the network. May be of use in preparing reading lists and encouraging learners to access first person accounts and other reading which falls outside academic literature on the subject.

This bibliography has been prepared by Gail Hornstein - a professor of psychology at Mount Holyoke College in the USA. She describes it as being in four sections: '(1) personal accounts of madness written by survivors themselves; (2) narratives written by family members; (3) anthologies and critical analyses of the madness narrative genre; and (4) websites featuring oral histories and other first-person madness accounts'. It may be of value in encouraging learners to access first person accounts of mental ill health - alongside other resources such as the madness and literature network (which also provides summaries).