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Secrecy and Privacy in the Biographies of two 20th-century Scientists

Georgina Ferry

23rd of March Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

Biographers naturally turn to their subjects for first-hand accounts of their life and work. The two biographical subjects I have addressed, Dorothy Hodgkin and Max Perutz, were almost exact contemporaries who worked in the same field, the X-ray crystallography of biological molecules. But their approaches to managing the narrative of their life and work were very different. Using these two examples, I reflect on the challenges facing the biographer as she attempts to produce a rounded picture of an individual scientist.

The NHS: The Secret History

Charles Webster

9th of February 2010 Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

This paper gives an insight into the inner or ‘secret’ history of the upper ranks of the British health administration, based on many interviews with senior officials. After World War I, the work of the new Ministry of Health was handicapped by the economic depression. In addition, the new department was handicapped by the premature death of Sir Robert Morant, its architect and first Permanent Secretary. The success of the department depended on the harmonious working relation between the Permanent Secretary and Chief Medical Officer. Under the first incumbents, who were in office until 1935, this harmony failed to materialize. In addition, the early talent recruited to the department was quickly dissipated. By the late 1930s the health department had sunk into the doldrums.

1023 Homeopathy: There's nothing in it

Video/Podcasts

A short Documentary about the 1023 campaign. At 10:23am on January 30th, more than four hundred homeopathy sceptics nationwide took part in a mass homeopathic 'overdose' in protest at Boots' continued endorsement and sale of homeopathic remedies, and to raise public awareness about the fact that homeopathic remedies have nothing in them. This is the protest in Oxford.

The ‘Euthanasia Programme’ and the ‘Final Solution’: The Limits of the ‘Continuity Thesis’

Dan Stone

8th of December 2009 Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

It has become common to argue that the Nazi Euthanasia programme was an important way-station on the ‘twisted road’ to Auschwitz, that the elimination of ‘undesirables’ that began with the murder of asylum inmate

Psychiatric Genetics in Germany, Britain, and the United States

Volker Roelcke

24 November 2009 Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

In this lecture, Volker Roelcke details the history of the relationships between eugenics and medical genetics between 1910-1060, demonstrating that the history of eugenics can yield broader analytical tools for investigating the international dimension connecting medicine, science, and politics. Volker reconstructs the emergence of institutionalized research agendas in the field of psychiatric genetics in three national contexts,

The Intersection of Anthropology and Medicine in Austria: From Weisbach to Pöch

Maria Teschler-Nicola

3rd Nov 2009, Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

In this fascinating lecture, the Natural History Museum in Vienna’s Maria Teschler-Nicola explores the points of convergence between Austrian anthropological and medical traditions between 1850 and 1920. Investigating a largely neglected period dominated by physicians, anatomists, pathologists, and geologists and their respective research interests, this lecture focusses on the lives and achievements of various key figures such as Ferdinand v. Hochstetter and the anatomist Carl Toldt who promoted the young physician Rudolf Poech. Poech, a member of the team the Academy of Sciences sent to study the 1897 plague outbreak in India, was also an early supporter of a ‘modern biology’ that increasingly centred on hereditary theories, an approach he explored through numerous research projects on both European as well as non-European populations.

The Myth and Cult of Ignaz Semmelweis: Constructing History of Science during the 20th Century

Benedek Varga

20 Oct 2009, Oxford Brookes University, History of Medicine Seminar Series

Ignaz Semmelweis (1818 – 1865) was a Hungarian physician who, in 1847, discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by improving on hand washing standards. As head of Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, he reduced puerperal fever’s mortality rate to 1-3%. Although his achievements were welcomed by some, he also encountered serious criticism. Dismissed from his post in 1850, Semmelweis returned to Budapest where he worked as a university professor in obstetrics. But by the time of his death aged 47 in 1865, Semmelweis’ mental balance had collapsed, he had been deserted by his family and friends, and was soon forgotten.

Thomas Willis’ Practice of Paediatric Neurology and Neurodisability

Andrew Williams

23rd July 2009; Oxford.

Thomas Willis (1621-75) is regarded as the founder of modern clinical neuroscience. He established the speciality of neurology and left a body of work that defined mid-seventeenth-century medicine. Recent interpretations of Willis’ work have led to a growing appreciation of his significant contributions to paediatric neurology, a speciality founded approximately three centuries after his death.

Richard Wiseman Interview

16th May 2009; British Science Association Oxford Branch

A short interview with Professor Richard Wiseman on the 16th May. This was just before his lecture on the luck Factor for the British Science Association held at Science Oxford.

Ben Goldacre Interview

12th May 2009; Skeptics in the Pub Oxford

A very short interview with Ben Goldacre on the 12th of May. This was just before Ben appeared at the Skeptics in the Pub, Oxford. Ben took the time to answer some questions on quackery, skepticism and advice for bloggers.

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Interview with Birmingham Skeptics in the Pub

We had the pleasure of being interviewed on Monday by Patrick Redmond from Birmingham Skeptics in the Pub. Listen to the interview below or visit the site.