Against Amnesia: Archives, Evidence, and Social Justice

Against Amnesia: Archives, Evidence, and Social Justice is this year's Obermann Humanities Symposium at the University of Iowa, and will be held at campus and downtown Iowa City venues on March 1-3, 2018. The symposium is an initiative of the Provost's Global Forum, and will offer a full schedule of lectures, panels, film screenings, and exhibitions.

The organizers note that "practicing archivists, engaged scholars, and interdisciplinary artists will share projects from creating 'data refuges' of climate date to mining corporate records for evidence of organized violence." Experimental filmmaker, Bill Morrison, honored as an Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor, will be delivering a talk, "Consider the Source," and presenting his most recent film, "Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)."

Further information can be found at the symposium website, which includes biographies of speakers, resources on archives and activism, and a listing of numerous, diverse archives in the area.

The 9th Annual Iowa City Book Festival

Designated in 2008 as one of the first UNESCO Cities of Literature in the world and still the only one in the United States, Iowa City will be hosting the ninth annual Iowa City Book Festival, October 8-15, 2017. In conjunction with the University of Iowa, FilmScene, the Iowa City Public Library, and the Iowa Arts Council, as well as other organizations and individuals, the expanded eight-day event will feature a Book Fair, readings by dozens of authors, and non-stop programming at many venues in and around downtown Iowa City.

In addition, many of this year's events will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, which was founded in 1967 by Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh  Engle. During this period, over 1,400 writers from more than 140 countries have spent a residency in Iowa City, where they have enriched the writing culture of the community while experiencing firsthand life at an American university. Also as part of the festival, this year's Paul Engle Prize will be awarded to Alexander Chee.

The 2017 Program can be downloaded as a PDF, and full details can be found at the festival website.

The Sussex Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, but there has long been disagreement on which day (or days) it was actually signed. Although the evidence is not clear-cut, some historians consider August 2 rather than July 4 to be the day the document was signed by all (or most) of the delegates to the Second Congressional Congress. What is not in dispute, however, is that ultimately 56 signatures were affixed, and that these are grouped by state, with the exception of Congress President John Hancock, whose iconic signature appears at the head of the others. This founding document was engrossed on parchment and is permanently housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C.

The original Declaration (also known as the Matlack Declaration) is now complemented by the Sussex Declaration, which is the only other known manuscript copy of the Declaration on parchment from the late 1700s. Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff, researchers at Harvard's Declaration Resources Project, first came across the document in August 2015; it derives its moniker from the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester, U.K., the repository where it is located.

The Sussex copy is the same size as the Matlack Declaration, but is oriented horizontally. More notably, some of the signers' names are misspelled, and the names are not grouped by states. Allen and Sneff believe that James Wilson, a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, is the person who likely commissioned the Sussex Declaration. They discuss many of their findings in Discovering the Sussex Declaration, a lecture delivered at the National Archives on July 6, 2017.

Bob Dylan's Nobel Lecture in Literature

Awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, Bob Dylan recorded his Nobel Lecture, with piano accompaniment, on June 4, 2017 in Los Angeles. He emphasizes the role literature has played in his music, and describes in particular the influence of three classic works: Moby-Dick, or, The Whale; All Quiet on the Western Front; and The Odyssey. A full transcript of the Lecture is available on the Nobel Prize website.

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence . . . MLK, Jr. after Fifty Years

Fifty years ago on April 4, 1967 (exactly one year before his assassination), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a major speech at Riverside Church in New York City which articulated his reasoning for his opposition to the Vietnam War, and how the conflict was intertwined with racism and other pressing social issues facing the nation. Entitled "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence," King traces the evolution of his thought on the war, and argues for a "radical revolution of values," stating:

. . . [W]e must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

Towards the conclusion of his speech, King posits a fundamental question:

We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight. 

Wise words still today, fifty years hence. The full transcript of King's speech can be read here; the YouTube video above contains audio only.

Attorney General Holder on National Security Policy

On March 5, 2012, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a major policy speech on national security issues at the Northwestern University School of Law. The full text of this speech, which among other things provides the administration's rationale for "targeted killings," is available on the U.S. Department of Justice's web site.

James Hansen: Why I Must Speak Out about Climate Change

TED has just made available a recent talk (filmed in February 2012) by noted climatologist, Dr. James Hansen. An Iowa native, Hansen studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the University of Iowa, where Dr. James Van Allen headed up the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Hansen's 1967 doctoral dissertation was entitled, The Atmosphere of Venus: A Dust Insulation Model, and he has since had a long scientific career investigating the basis of global climate change and advocating for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth's atmosphere.

2010-11 Bullitt History of Medicine Club Lecture Series

The Bullitt History of Medicine Club at UNC launches its 2010-11 lecture series on October 19, 2010 with a presentation by Dr. Brian Owen-Smith on Benjamin Franklin and Medicine. The complete schedule is as follows:

:: Dr. Brian Owen-Smith
Benjamin Franklin and Medicine
October 19, 2010, 5:30pm

:: Dr. Raúl Necochea
The International Planned Parenthood Federation in Cold War Peru
November 16, 2010, 12pm

:: William S. Meyer
On the Diagnosis and "Treatment" of Homosexuality: When Prejudice Masquerades As Science
December 7, 2010, 5:30

:: Chailee Mann-Stadt, Winner of 2010 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine
Drs. Grace Dewey and Josephine Milligan: 19th-Century Women Become 20th-Century Physicians, Educators, and Activists
January 13, 2011, 12pm

:: Dr. Samuel K. Roberts
Infectious Fear: Politics, Fear, and the Health Effects of Segregation
February 1, 2011, 5:30pm

:: Dr. Erika Lindemann
James Dusenberry: Uncovering the Life of a 19th-Century UNC Medical Student
March 2, 2011, 12pm

:: Dr. Jeffrey P. Baker
Autism in 1959: Joey the Mechanical Boy
April 5, 2011, 5:30pm

All events are held in Room 527, UNC Health Sciences Library. Past lectures are available as podcasts on iTunes and as mp3s. For further information, visit the Bullitt Club web site.

Trent Center Lecture on Eugenics and Bioethics: "Unsettled Legacies"

The first lecture of the new academic year in the Trent Center's Humanities in Medicine Lecture Series will be by Dr. Eric Juengst, the new director of the UNC Center for Biomedical Ethics. Entitled "Unsettled Legacies: Early 20th Century Eugenics, Late 20th Century Bioethics, and Where We Go from Here," the lecture will take place 12-1 pm, Monday, September 13, 2010 in the Duke Hospital Lecture Hall 2001. (Click on image to enlarge flyer).

Of related interest is two earlier Common Curator posts on Eugenics: The History of Eugenics in North Carolina and North Carolina Dedicates Eugenics Historical Marker.

A Conversation with Oliver Smithies: The Complete Video

On March 30, 2009, the UNC Health Sciences Library hosted "A Conversation with Dr. Oliver Smithies." The event was moderated by Dr. Tony Waldrop, UNC Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and featured a conversation with Smithies, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology, and a lengthy question-and-answer with the audience, which was composed of numerous students, researchers, staff, and faculty, as well as members of the public. While a previous blog entry included video excerpts of his presentation, the present posting includes the complete video [1:19:28].

For other Smithies-related postings on the Carolina Curator blog, click here; for a collection of Smithies' Nobel-related materials, visit the Highlights section of the HSL Special Collections web site. The text of Smithies' 2002 Norma Berryhill Distinguished Lecture, "Fifty Years as a Bench Scientist," is also available online.

UNC maintains a channel for university-related YouTube videos, which can be accessed at the YouTube site; a playlist for Health & Medicine videos is also available. In addition, UNC Health Care and the School of Medicine maintain a YouTube channel, with playlists for news, grand rounds, and more.

Bullitt History of Medicine Club Lecture Series Online

The entire 2009-10 lecture series for the Bullitt History of Medicine Club is now accessible online. Lectures have been digitally recorded since September 2008, and are available as mp3s on the Bullitt Club web site and as podcasts via Carolina on iTunes (navigate to School of Medicine section or click direct link). A listing of lectures for 2008-9 and 2009-10 follows below. For further information on the activities of the Bullitt Club, visit the organization's web site.

2009-2010 Bullitt Club Lectures

Dr. Carol Otey, Associate Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology, UNC School of Medicine
Oral Contraception: From Ancient Plant Extracts to the Birth of the Pill
:: April 22, 2010 [download mp3 -- 26 MB -- 52:25]

Dr. Margaret Humphreys, Josiah Charles Trent Professor in the History of Medicine, Duke University
The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment and the Civil War
:: March 30, 2010 [download mp3 -- 30 MB -- 1:03:27]

Dr. Alexander Toledo, Assistant Professor of Surgery, UNC School of Medicine
John Collins Warren: "Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug"
:: February 18, 2010 [download mp3 -- 24 MB -- 51:02]

Chris Dibble, MD/PhD student, UNC School of Medicine
Winner of 2009 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine
The Dead Ringer: Medicine, Poe, and the Fear of Premature Burial
:: December 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 22 MB -- 46:25]

Dr. Michael McVaugh, Professor Emeritus of History, UNC
Arabic into Latin (Or, Why Medical Schools Got Started)
:: November 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 31 MB -- 1:06:12]

Dr. Janna Dieckmann, Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing, UNC School of Nursing
Home-Visiting by Nurses, Physicians, and Physical Therapists in North Carolina, 1950-1965
:: October 19, 2009 [download mp3 -- 44 MB -- 47:16]

Dr. Barbara Clowse, Historian and Author
Dr. Frances Sage Bradley: Her Biographer's Dilemma
:: September 29, 2009 [download mp3 -- 42 MB -- 44:38]

Dr. Philip Klemmer, Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
Jack London's Mysterious Malady
:: September 15, 2009 [download mp3 -- 42 MB -- 44:35]


2008-2009 Bullitt Club Lectures

Dr. Sue Estroff, Professor of Social Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
Blemished Bodies and Persons: An Historical Perspective on Stigma
:: April 14, 2009 [download mp3 -- 75 MB -- 1:20:15]

Lisa Wiese, Second-Year Medical Student, UNC School of Medicine
Washington, D.C.: Understanding the Poverty-Health Link from an Historical Lens
:: April 6, 2009 [download mp3 -- 48 MB -- 51:22]

Dr. Todd Savitt, Professor of Medical Humanities, East Carolina University
Entering a "White" Profession: Black Physicians in 19th- and 20th-Century America
:: February 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 59 MB -- 1:03:22]

Dr. Aldo Rustioni, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, UNC School of Medicine
The Neuron Doctrine of 1891 and the 1906 Nobel Award for Physiology or Medicine
:: January 21, 2009 [download mp3 -- 55 MB -- 59:32]

Dr. Vanessa Northrington Gamble, University Professor of Medical Humanities, George Washington University
"Without Health and Long Life All Else Fails": A History of African-American Efforts to Eliminate Racial Disparities in Health and Health Care
:: December 10, 2008 [download mp3 -- 60 MB -- 1:04:24]

Chris Dibble, MD/PhD Student, UNC School of Medicine
Winner of 2008 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine
Edward Livingston Trudeau: The First American Physician-Scientist and the Fight against Tuberculosis
:: November 17, 2008 [download mp3 -- 49 MB -- 52:38]

Dr. Elizabeth Fenn, Associate Professor of History, Duke University
Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82
:: October 21, 2008 [download mp3 -- 61 MB -- 1:05:18]

Wendy Moore, Freelance Journalist and Author (England)
The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery
:: September 23, 2008 [download mp3 -- 58 MB -- 1:02:02]

Ansley Herring Wegner, Research Historian, North Carolina Office of Archives and HistoryPhantom Pain: North Carolina's Artificial Limbs Program for Confederate Amputees
:: September 17, 2008 [download mp3 -- 34 MB -- 36:32]

Note: Bullitt Club lecturers maintain individual copyright in online presentations.

Symposium for The First White House Library

The Library of Congress will by hosting a one-day symposium on May 7, 2010 to celebrate the publication of The First White House Library: A History & Annotated Catalogue. [For a detailed program, click here].

At the beginning of the day, visitors may choose one of two optional tours in the Library of Congress. Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Book and Special Collections, will give a tour of the new exhibition of Thomas Jefferson’s library [see also the digitized catalog of Jefferson's library; his books on medicine and anatomy are described in volume 1 at pp. 395-455], and John Cole, Director of the Center for the Book, will lead a tour that features the iconography, quotations, and inscriptions of the Library’s Jefferson Building.

The symposium program begins officially at 10:00 a.m. with a plenary address by Catherine M. Parisian, the editor of The First White House Library, followed by the presentation of copies of the book to the National First Ladies’ Library and the White House.

Other conference sessions will focus on books and reading in the White House. Douglas L. Wilson, Co-Director, Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, and Jean Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln’s biographer, will discuss President and Mrs. Lincoln. Other featured speakers on the topic of First Ladies and reading will include the noted first ladies historian Carl Anthony; William G. Allman, Curator of the White House; Nancy Beck Young, biographer of Lou Henry Hoover; and Abigail Fillmore’s biographer Elizabeth Thacker-Estrada. The program will conclude with a plenary address by distinguished historian and author Sean Wilentz. A closing reception will follow.

RSVP: This event is free and open to the public. To assist with preparations, we ask those planning to attend to RSVP to Stacyea Sistare-Anderson, Center for the Book, (202) 707-5221, stsi@loc.gov.

The symposium is sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and the National First Ladies’ Library.

The Raw and the Cooked – and the Rare

On April 15, 2010 treasures will come out of the stacks at the Rare Book Collection in UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library. In a free public program at 5:45 p.m., Claudia Funke, curator of rare books, will speak about the concept of rarity and the role of libraries in collecting and making rare books available. For her talk, titled "The Raw and the Cooked – and the Rare," Funke will showcase some of the collection's recent gifts and purchases. Participants will have the opportunity during a reception beginning at 5 p.m. to view additions to the Rare Book Collection from the past two years. Items will range in date from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Read more . . .

The reception will be held in the Wilson Lobby, with the book viewing in Rare Book Collection Reading Room; the lecture will be held at in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room.

Trent Society Lecture: Pathology at Duke

Conference on Poetry and Caregiving at Duke

Life Lines: Poetry for Our Patients, Our Communities, Our Selves
A Conference Examining the Place of Poetry in Caregiving

May 21-23, 2010
Duke University
Sponsored by Duke Medicine

Program and Schedule
Speakers and Panelists
Registration

What are the challenges and benefits of offering poetry to patients? Can the sharing of poetry expand the vision of practitioners and students in healthcare professions? What is the role of poetry in community treatment programs? In shelters? In prisons? What can caregivers gain from writing and reading poetry?

This conference is designed for those who have an interest in examining the place of poetry in caregiving. Three panels of poets and health practitioners will present perspectives on the ways poetry can play a part in caring for our patients, our communities and our selves. Through discussion sessions, participants will have an opportunity to share experiences, to dialogue, to develop techniques, and to gain a deeper appreciation for poetry in the art of healing. Highlights of the conference include Friday and Saturday evening talks by poets David Whyte and Jane Hirshfield. Ms. Hirshfield will also offer a master class in poetry writing on Sunday morning. Join us as we hear from physicians, therapists, and poets and discuss the practicalities and possibilities of poetry in health care.

Registration is limited to 150, to allow lots of time for conversation and dialogue amongst those attending. Those who cannot make the whole conference might well be interested in the evening lectures by David Whyte on Friday ($20/$10 students) and Jane Hirshfield (free to public).

For more information about LIFE LINES: Poetry for Our Patients, Our Communities, Our Selves please contact: Grey Brown, Literary Arts Director, Health Arts Network at Duke, Duke University Medical Center (brown097@mc.duke.edu), or Dr. Frank Neelon of the Conference Planning Committee (919-618-1757).

Bullitt Club Lecture on History of Oral Contraception

The last meeting of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club for 2009-10 will be Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us from 12-1pm for light refreshments and lecture. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Carol Otey, Associate Professor of Cell and and Molecular Biology at UNC, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "Oral Contraception: From Ancient Plant Extracts to the Birth of the Pill."

The evolution of contraceptive practices from ancient times to the present will be discussed, within the context of the legal and social forces at work in human populations during different historical periods. The emphasis will be on plant-based contraception, including ancient herbal medicines, the development of rubber-based barrier methods (starting from raw plant sap), and the genesis of birth control pills in plant-based organic compounds.

Dr. Otey earned degrees in cell biology at Trinity University (BS) and UCLA (PhD), before pursuing post-doctoral work at UNC. She worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia from 1993-1998, and joined the UNC faculty in 1998.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the organization's web site.

Book Event for New Biography on Hugh Williamson [1735-1819]

The Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be hosting a book event for Dr. George Sheldon, author of the first full-length biography of Hugh Williamson [1735-1819], an illustrious figure in both American and North Carolina history. Entitled Hugh Williamson: Physician, Patriot, and Founding Father, the book recounts the remarkable life of Williamson, who among many other accomplishments was a signer of the U.S. Constitution.

The event will begin at 5:30pm on Thursday, April 15, 2010 in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527) at the UNC Health Sciences Library. Dr. Sheldon will make a brief presentation and entertain questions on Williamson's place in history. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome. In addition, a small display will be on view in the exhibition cases on the first floor of HSL.

Dr. Sheldon is the Zack D. Owens Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Director of the Health Policy Research Institute of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Editor-in-Chief of e-FACS.org, the web portal of ACS. From 1984-2001 he served as Chair of the Department of Surgery at UNC.

See related post: New Biography on Hugh Williamson, Physician and Patriot.

Bullitt Club Lecture: "The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment, and the Civil War"

The next meeting of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us at 5:30pm for light refreshments followed by the lecture at 6pm. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Margaret Humphreys, the Josiah Charles Trent Professor in the History of Medicine at Duke University, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment, and the Civil War."

Dr. Humphreys received her PhD in the History of Science (1983) and MD (1987) from Harvard University. She is the author of Yellow Fever and the South (1992) and Malaria: Poverty, Race, and Public Health in the United States (2001), books that explore the tropical disease environment of the American South, and its role in the national public health effort. She teaches the history of medicine, public health, and biology at Duke University, where she also edits the Journal of the History of Medicine. Her current research concerns the impact of the Civil War on American Medicine. The first book to emerge from that project, Intensely Human: The Health of the Black Soldier in the American Civil War, appeared in 2008.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including the schedule for 2009-10 and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the Bullitt web site.

Anesthesia History Association to Meet in North Carolina

The Anesthesia History Association (AHA), in conjunction with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, will be holding its 16th Annual Meeting on April 8-10, 2010, at the Brookstown Inn in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The featured speaker will be Dr. K. Patrick Ober, Professor of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University and author of Mark Twain and Medicine: "Any Mummery Will Cure."

Annual meetings are held in various parts of the United States, and a brief interim meeting and dinner is held annually during the ASA Annual Meeting. Annual Meeting programs include plenary sessions devoted to targeted subject relative to anesthesia history or the teaching of history. "Free Papers" are devoted to historical events, trends, biography, etc related to medicine and to anesthesia.

This year's meeting will begin on Thursday, April 8, with a tour of Old Salem and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. The educational sessions will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and conclude at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Additional information regarding the 2010 AHA spring meeting is available from Robert Strickland, M.D., rastrick@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4498, or Sherri Stockner, sstockne@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-2712; the AHA web site also provides further information.

Bullitt Club Lecture on John Collins Warren: "Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug"

The Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be meeting Thursday, February 18, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us from 12 to 1pm for light refreshments and lecture. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Alexander Toledo, Assistant Professor of Surgery at UNC, will be speaking on: "John Collins Warren: 'Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug.'"

Dr. Warren was one of the great figures of American surgery of the nineteenth century. This lecture will focus on the pedigree, career, and contributions of Warren, with special consideration for the birth of anesthesia.

Dr. Toledo works in the Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery in the UNC Department of Surgery. He received his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Michigan, followed by a residency in general surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a fellowship in transplant at Northwestern University. Among his specialties are solid organ transplant, pediatric transplant, living-related organ donation, and adult and pediatric intestinal transplant.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including the schedule for 2009-10 and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the organization's web site.

Image source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Scene above is believed to be a re-enactment of the demonstration of ether anesthesia by W.T.G. Morton on October 16, 1846. Mr. Holman with surgeons: John Mason Warren, George Hayward, Solomon D. Townsend, John Collins Warren and James Johnson around man on operating table.