Currently underway at the University of Surrey, in Guildford, UK, is the annual conference of the History and Philosophy of Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. The theme of this year’s event is DSM: The History, Theory, and Politics of Diagnosis, a particularly timely topic given the soon to be released DSM-5.

The meeting got off to a great start with a keynote address by Martyn Pickersgill on the DSM as technology, particularly in relation to various uses and understandings of anti-social personality disorder. Other papers thus far have looked at an array of conceptual and historical issues related to the DSM, new and old. This has included a symposium on sexual disorders, discussion of efforts to classify mental disorders prior to the construction of the DSM, and papers on the ways in which the Rorschach has been used to investigate both homosexuality and homophobia.

Another full day of programming taking place as we speak and the conference will close today with a keynote address from Ian Parker.