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2005/2006 History of the Health Sciences Lecture Series
Climate Change, Human Agency, and Health in Early America
Professor Fleming looks at the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and Noah Webster that reflect their thoughts on the relationship of climate and health, and the lasting implications of these ideas for the Lewis and Clark Expedition and a subsequent generation of American climatologists and physicians. Thursday, October 13, 20055:00 to 6:00 p.m.
James R. Fleming, Ph.D.
Professor of Science, Technology, and Society | Colby College, Waterville, Maine
Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History | Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum (2005-2006)
Last Days of the Iron Lung
University of Virginia Professor Emeritus Dudley F. Rochester, will talk about his personal experience as a physician working with respiratory failure patients, when treatment options included the iron lung. He will discuss the pros and cons of various treatments for pulmonary patients and the advances made in technology, which contributed to the demise of the iron lung as a therapeutic device.
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Dudley F. Rochester, M.D.
E. Cato Drash Professor Emeritus of Pulmonary Medicine | University of Virginia School of Medicine
Haunting Images: Dissection, Photography, and American Medical Students
Medical students dissecting human cadavers in gross anatomy class became the subject of images barely five years after the advent of the daguerreotype. Photography provided a way for students to preserve this central event of their medical education. The images became an underground genre because of the association of dissection with grave robbing, a psychological linkage that lingered even after grave robbing subsided. Victorian social taboos against intimate knowledge of the human body drove these images even further underground. This presentation shows the variety of such photos.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
James M. Edmonson, Ph.D.
Chief Curator, Dittrick Medical History Center and Museum | Case Western Reserve University
Intensely Human: The Health of Black Soldiers in the American Civil War
As the Civil War entered its third year the fate of black slaves occupied center stage among northern thinkers. Could the black man become a productive citizen? Would black people be able to care for themselves, and remain healthy? Would the black man make a good soldier? In 1863 and 1864 some 180,000 black men entered the Union army, and many hoped the experience would train them in citizenship skills. An alarming number died of disease, which led some to claim that the black body was inherently weak, unable to survive the rigors of the army and the modern world. This talk explores the disease experience of the black soldier and the factors which caused such high morbidity and mortality during the Civil War.
Thursday, February 9, 2006
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Margaret Humphreys, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of History, Department of History | Duke University
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine | Duke University School of Medicine
Editor | Journal of the History of Medicine
Aviation Medicine in Ophthalmology
Just over 100 years ago the Wright brothers ushered in the era of powered man flight. As more accidents and fatalities resulted from increased air travel and combat, attempts were made to develop criteria for screening and selection of pilots. Dr. Newman will trace the history of the development of the importance of vision in aviation and provide insight into how theories are formulated and how bureaucracies often have a difficult time in changing standards and requirements.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Steven A. Newman, M.D.
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology | University of Virginia School of Medicine
“What's in a Name? Histories of Mary Mallon and Typhoid Mary”
A childhood doggerel claims that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” This talk suggests, rather, that names can hurt, and they also can change the course of a life, of history, of how historians tell history, and, most specifically, of how stigmatizing names can affect efforts to protect the public's health. A 2004 NOVA film, The Most Dangerous Woman in the World, based on Professor Leavitt’s recent book, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health, has been nominated for an Emmy in the historical documentary category.
The Tenth Annual Kenneth R. Crispell Memorial History Lecture
Kenneth R. Crispell, M.D. (12 April 1988)
Monday, April 3, 2006
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Judith W. Leavitt, Ph.D.
Rupple Bascom and Ruth Bleier Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Professor of Medical History, History of Science, and Women’s Studies | University of Wisconsin at Madison