Hannah Proctor

Hannah Proctor is a Research Fellow in History at the University of Strathclyde, affiliated with the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare. Her research explores intersections between left-wing politics and the 'psy' disciplines, including radical psychiatry, Freudo-Marxism, and emotional histories of political movements. She has held fellowships at institutions including ICI Berlin, Birkbeck, and the University of Leeds. Proctor’s work bridges academic and public engagement, with contributions to journals like Radical Philosophy and Parapraxis Mag.

Education:

• PhD in Medical Humanities, Birkbeck, University of London (2011–2015)
• MA in Cultural and Critical Studies, Birkbeck, University of London (2010)
• BA in History, University College London (2005)

Her research interests include Soviet mental health policies, Cold War social science projects, and the emotional dimensions of political defeat. Recent publications include Burnout: The Emotional Experience of Political Defeat (2024) and Psychologies in Revolution (2020). She has received Wellcome Trust funding for projects analyzing Soviet psychiatric abuse and Cold War-era studies of the 'Soviet mind'.

Awards:

• Early Career Research Fellowship, Wellcome Trust (2019–2022)
• Wellcome Trust University Award (2022–2027)

Proctor advises PhD students and collaborates on interdisciplinary projects. Her current work focuses on 'Communist Cases: Political Pathologization and US Social Science in the Cold War'. She contributes to editorial roles at Radical Philosophy and History of the Human Sciences.