AM I NORMAL? The 200 Year Search For Normal People* (*and why they don't exist!)

• All Brighthink 'BRIGHTALKS' are pay on the door only (£5)
• There are no advance tickets for these events
• The RSVP function does not guarantee a seat
• Turn up early to avoid disappointment - Doors open 7pm

The riveting history of the strange science of the 'Normal', and the origins of an anxiety-ridden modern obsession.

Before the nineteenth century, the term 'normal' was rarely ever associated with human behaviour. Normal was a term used in maths: people weren't normal - triangles were.

But from the 1830s, this branch of science really took off across Europe and North America, with a proliferation of IQ tests, sex studies, a census of hallucinations - even a UK beauty map (which concluded the women in Aberdeen were "the most repellent"). And why are we still asking the internet: Do I have a normal body? Is my sex life normal? Are my kids normal?

Join Sarah Chaney as she reveals the surprising history of how the very notion of being 'normal' came about and how it shaped us all, often whilst entrenching oppressive values. She questions why we ever thought it might be a desirable thing to be and also challenges the concept of 'normal', the assumptions and categories of normality and abnormality, health and pathology.

Sarah Chaney is a research fellow at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. She spent her teens and 20s furiously rebelling against the mainstream, while secretly longing to be normal. It wasn’t until she passed 30 that she (mostly) stopped worrying about this mythical ideal. Alongside her research work she runs the public exhibitions and events programme at the Royal College of Nursing, occasionally writes for The Conversation and Psychology Today, and reads far too much X-Men fanfic.

Sarah will also be signing copies of her book Am I Normal, which will be available to purchase on the night with a special Brighthink discount.

• DOORS OPEN: 7:00pm (£5 on the door)
• TALK STARTS: 7:30pm
• AUDIENCE Q & A: 8:30pm
• BOOK SIGNING: 9:00pm

Brighthink is a non-profit organisation, none of our invited speakers charge for their time, and proceeds from ticket sales go towards the running costs that allow us to put on these events for the public.