Jesper Vaczy Kragh

Jesper Vaczy Kragh is Professor at the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, where his research integrates medical and social history with contemporary public-health questions. His work focuses on the history of psychiatry, mental health, disability, and child welfare in Denmark.

Education

• PhD in History of Medicine, University of Copenhagen (1 July 2007)
  Dissertation: “The White Slit: Psychosurgery and Danish Psychiatry 1922–1983”
• MA in History, Roskilde University (1 June 1999)

Research Interests

Kragh’s scholarship spans the history of psychiatry from the early 20th century to the welfare-state era, including psychosurgery, eugenics, and the lived experiences of vulnerable groups. He examines how societal attitudes and policies toward mental illness and intellectual disability have evolved, using archival sources, patient narratives, and institutional records to illuminate patterns of inclusion and exclusion.

Recent projects extend his inquiry into child psychiatry after 1945, exploring demographic trends, clinical practices, and the voices of children and families within Danish residential care systems. His comparative, trans-Nordic perspective further enriches analyses of social class and mental health.

Scientific Awards

• Historical Book of the Year 2022 — awarded by the Danish Historical Society for the monograph IQ 75, a study of developmental disability in historical and contemporary contexts.

Grants & Current Projects

Kragh leads the research project "Danish child psychiatry in the clinic and beyond. Lived experiences and demographic trends, 1945–1990" (2024–2026), funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project combines quantitative demographic analysis with qualitative life-history interviews to trace how child psychiatric services have shaped—and been shaped by—welfare policies and societal values.

Collaboration & Outreach

He regularly collaborates with museums, psychiatric institutions, and international scholars, translating historical insights into public exhibitions and policy discussions. Recent media contributions include op-eds and interviews advocating for the integration of mental-health history into national narratives and public education.