Cold war on the mind: Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron and the history of brainwashing in Montreal
Abstract
Beginning with a New York Times article on August 2nd, 1977, much has been published about Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron’s CIA-financed research into brainwashing at McGill University in the 1950s and ‘60s. My research intervenes in this nearly fifty-year historiography in order to correct the record on various often-repeated errors, allowing future scholars of Cameron’s research—billed as MKULTRA Subproject no. 68—to understand and avoid common yet outdated claims.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Sarah Osten
Status
Graduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
History
Primary Research Category
Arts & Humanities
Cold war on the mind: Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron and the history of brainwashing in Montreal
Beginning with a New York Times article on August 2nd, 1977, much has been published about Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron’s CIA-financed research into brainwashing at McGill University in the 1950s and ‘60s. My research intervenes in this nearly fifty-year historiography in order to correct the record on various often-repeated errors, allowing future scholars of Cameron’s research—billed as MKULTRA Subproject no. 68—to understand and avoid common yet outdated claims.
