That ends with "The range and scope of this Encyclopedia is vivid testimony to the intellectual vitality of the field, and will, one hopes, make a useful contribution to the next generation of sociological research on the cultural sociology of mental illness." What "encyclopedia"? Was this text copied from the intro to some book?
The terms “sociological” and “illness” (vs disorder) makes this oxymoron a medical perspective, not a historical one. History shows the medical concept of illness as applied to psychological disorders to be reductive and harmful to those affected
The insanity of normality. Arno Gruen.
sincerity is the key to success, once you can fake that you’ve got it made