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BSHM Congress 2023

Consult the past to understand the future

13-16 September 2023

Cardiff University

The President and Officers of the British Society for the History of Medicine look forward to welcoming you to the 2023 BSHM Congress at Cardiff University. Participation is open to all interested in the history of medicine and there are reduced rates for students.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

  • Medicine in War and Conflict
  • Literature and Visual Art as Historical Resources
  • Medicine in the Age of European Colonialism

Papers and posters on general topics in the history of medicine are also welcome.

KEYNOTE LECTURES

Medical Care and Military Surgery during the British Civil Wars: The Civil War Petitions Project

Professor Andrew Hopper (Professor of Local and Social History) & Dr Ismini Pells (Departmental Lecturer), Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford.

A Taste of One’s Own Medicine: Medical Satire at the Royal College of Physicians

Lowri Jones (Senior Curator) & Sarah Backhouse (Exhibitions Officer), Royal College of Physicians, London.

Medical Research on the Edges of Empire: British Colonial Medicine in the 19th Century

Dr Elise Smith (Associate Professor in the History of Medicine), University of Warwick.

Further details

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Please direct enquiries to: congress2023@bshm.org.uk

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

We invite abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations on any of the symposium themes and general topics in the history of medicine for consideration by the Congress review panel.

  • Abstract titles should be no more than 15 words.
  • The abstract text should be no longer than 300 words.
  • It may contain three references to be included in the total word count.

The organisers cannot guarantee to accept more than submission for oral presentation and one for poster presentation from each delegate.

The deadline for receipt of abstract submissions is 31 May 2023.

Authors of successful submissions will be notified by 7 July 2023.

Please note that final acceptance is subject to the presenter registering as a delegate to the Congress.

Oral presentations will be 15 minutes long with 5 minutes for questions and presenters will be required to keep strictly to time. Presentations should be in PowerPoint and must be submitted before the conference. It will not be possible for delegates to use their personal laptops or memory sticks at the Congress.

The format required for posters will be confirmed upon acceptance.

FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: CLICK HERE

CONGRESS REGISTRATION

The BSHM welcomes all who are interested in the history of medicine to attend the Congress.

BSHM MEMBERS are entitled to a reduced registration fee.

If you are a member of an organisation affiliated to the BSHM, please register your status as a BSHM member online: CLICK HERE

If you wish to apply for BSHM Individual Membership please complete the online application form: CLICK HERE

When registering for the Congress, please indicate whether you are an Individual Member or BSHM Member of an Affiliated Organisation.

FULL-TIME POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS* can register at member rates.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS* are invited to participate at a specially reduced rate.

* Students must be registered on a full-time course at a recognised educational institution.

Please note that the John Blair Trust offers a limited number of small travel grants to enable undergraduate students to participate in the BSHM Congress: CLICK HERE

Early bird rates available until 21 July 2023.

Registration will close on 2 September 2023.

CONGRESS REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN: CLICK HERE

BSHM Poynter Meeting 2022

On Friday, 30 September 2022 the British Society for the History of Medicine (BSHM) will be holding the 2022 Pointer Meeting. This event will feature two lectures: Dr Emily Mayhew on ‘When Unexpected Survivors become Trustees of Each Other’ and Lieutenant General (Rtd) Professor Martin Bricknell CB OStJ PhD DM on ‘Military Medical Dilemmas – ethics in decision making’.

For more information about this engaging evening please click here to download the full poster or click here to access the registration form for the lectures.

In the biennial Poynter Lecture the BSHM commemorates Noël Poynter’s many and varied contributions to the study of the history of medicine. Previous lectures are listed on the BSHM website.

Having a Baby in Nantwich during the Mid- to Late Seventeenth Century

© Nantwich Museum, 2021


Sara Read, Loughborough University, and Janette Allotey, De Partu History of Childbirth Group and Nantwich Museum, will explore the role of midwives during the mid- to late seventeenth century, which includes the Civil War period. It will be described how one Nantwich midwife, Anne Knutsford, achieved local notoriety and subsequently spent many years trying to clear her name and regain her licence to practise midwifery.  Her case is well documented in archival records and has become of interest to modern-day social historians. 

Tickets can be purchased through the Museum’s website: https://nantwichmuseum.org.uk/product/midwifery-in-the-english-civil-war-webinar/

Scottish Society of the History of Medicine Symposium (12–13 March 2021)

The Scottish Society of the History of Medicine will be holding a special symposium on “Teaching anatomy from Classical to modern times” – Friday 12th and Saturday 13th March 2021.

Download the brochure and registration form.

Introduction

This two day symposium is being organised by the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine, in association with the British Society for the History of Medicine and the History Society of the Royal Society of Medicine. The aim is to explore the development of anatomy teaching from the earliest times to the present day.

Presentations will cover the ways in which anatomical knowledge has been acquired, portrayed and taught. We will examine the evolution of techniques used in the teaching of anatomy through the ages and its relevance not only to surgery and medicine, but also to art and society in general.

The programme includes keynote lectures, invited speakers and short papers. We welcome short papers from a range of perspectives including historical, social, cultural and modern innovations.

Symposium Topics

  • The rise and fall of comparative anatomy
  • Cadaveric model
  • Wax and paper models
  • Anatomy textbooks
  • The rise and fall of the private anatomy schools
  • The role of anatomy museums
  • Modern technologies
  • Anatomy in art
  • Leonardo’s anatomy
  • Anatomy potpourri: Humour/mnemonics/cartoons etc.

Venue

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Nicolson Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9DW

New book reviews

Reviews of the following titles are now available on the Book Reviews page:

Lara Freidenfels (2020)
The myth of the perfect pregnancy: A history of miscarriage in America

Anja Katharina Peters (2020)
Nanna Conti (1881-1951): Eine Biographie der Reichshebammenführerin
[English abstract]

Karen Harvey (2020)
The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder: Mary Toft and Eighteenth-Century England

Karen Hearn (2020)
Portraying Pregnancy: from Holbein to Social Media

Wellcome Collection: Exploring Research Seminar Series, Spring 2020

Library Viewing Room, 2nd Floor, Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London

For all events, doors open at 17.15, seminars start promptly at 17.30

For all enquiries, email: ResearchDevelopmentTeam@wellcome.ac.uk

For more details of events, see: https://wellcomecollection.org/event-series

Tuesday 3rd March 2020:

Title: Surrogacy as reproductive labour

Speaker: Dr Sigrid Vertommen is a research fellow at the Department of Conflict and Development Studies at Ghent University, and an affiliated scholar at the Sociology of Reproduction Research Group of the University of Cambridge.

Talk: Dr Vertommen will explore the porous boundaries between gift-commodity, motherhood-work, altruism-profit in the fertility industry. 

Tuesday 17th March 2020:

Title: ‘Do NOT Flush Feminine Waste’: The History of the UK Sanitary Bin’ 

Speaker: Dr Camilla Mørk Røstvik is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews.

Talk: Dr Røstvik will examine the incinerators that led to calls for better menstrual waste management in the 1940s, the growth of the bin cleaning system in the 1960s, and the industry’s intersection with environmental and menstrual activism in the late-twentieth century.

March 14th 2020: History of childbirth event at the Foundling Museum, London

This fantastic event takes place from 10am until 4pm and includes free entry to the Museum, free entry to the ‘Portraying Pregnancy …’ exhibition and a presentation by its curator Professor Karen Hearn, who is the author of an accompanying book, plus a programme of lectures. Lunch and refreshments are provided.

Note to lecturers and students: a limited number of student places are available at a reduced cost.

Teaching anatomy from classical to modern times: SSHM

Download booking form

This two day symposium is being organised by the Scottish Society
of the History of Medicine, in association with the British Society for
the History of Medicine and the History Society of the Royal Society
of Medicine. The aim is to explore the development of anatomy
teaching from the earliest times to the present day.

Presentations will cover the ways in which anatomical knowledge has
been acquired, portrayed and taught. We will examine the evolution
of techniques used in the teaching of anatomy through the ages and
its relevance not only to surgery and medicine, but also to art and
society in general.

The programme includes keynote lectures, invited speakers and short
papers. We welcome short papers from a range of perspectives
including historical, social, cultural and modern innovations.

IHR History Day 2019: 19th November

Discover research collections at this free one-day event designed for history students, researchers and writers, run by the Institute of Historical Research:

  • Plan your next research project
  • Meet specialist librarians & archivists
  • Hear from historical organisations
  • Talk to publishers
  • Build your network

The day includes a history fair showcasing over 50 libraries, archives and other historical organisations, offering one on-one advice on your research.

Book now at www.history.ac.uk/historyday

19 November 2019, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Beveridge Hall, Ground Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Contact ihr.events@sas.ac.uk
020 7862 8740