Health Humanities SIG lecture 'The birds were the delight, the talk of the San’
The birds were the delight, the talk of the San’. Adventures at the intersection of health and environmental histories
This talk will begin with an overview of the work of the Wellcome Trust funded network, MedEnv: Intersections in Medical and Environmental Humanities, which Dr Clare Hickman led from 2020-2023, with examples of some of the themes explored by members of the network.
She will then offer a case study from her own recent research inspired by network discussions on British sanatoria. This applies an environmental history lens to offer new perspectives on a well-known medical institution. From comments on the weather to multispecies encounters, particularly with birds, oral histories and other narrative accounts can help us understand the environmental experience of patients.
These illuminating stories are absent from medical treatises written by doctors and other professionals which have traditionally been the main texts used by medical historians thus demonstrating the exciting opportunities presented by research at the intersection.
Biography
Dr Clare Hickman works at the intersection of environmental and medical history, taking a historical approach to human-environment relationships in relation to ideas of health and wellbeing.