Final Summaries on 20th-Century Science: Feminism and Science

The below essay was at the same time my favorite to write and my last one for my list with Susan Lindee. Concluding my readings in Cold-War Science and Feminism also brings me one step closer to my oral exams on May 6: this was the first one out of three lists that I completed reading. As of yesterday, I have finished all my lists (more essays to follow on this weblog soon).

I have some training in Gender Studies, most importantly through taking classes with Anelis Kaiser, Sabine Hark, and following the NeuroGenderings network, but taking time to (re)read and discuss the below works gave me a new perspective on my own work. I used to have problems calling myself a “feminist,” because I’ve seen a lot of unproductive deconstructivism in the public discourse. The below scholarship, however, together with my teachers and the NeuroGenderings network, offers a glimpse into the development towards productive feminist science critique that does not forget intersectionality—a scholarly project that I want to contribute to. Continue reading

Book Summaries: History, Tools, and Practices of Genetics and Hereditary Science

Here comes another contribution to my summaries for my list with Susan Lindee. Topic of the day: “History, Tools, and Practices of Genetics and Hereditary Science.” My original notes are much longer than what I provide in this essay, but I have a maximum of six pages to deliver. So I had to cut some of my observations. Have fun! Continue reading

Lecture 09/24: A French Revolution in Medicine

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10699036@N08/2353185908/in/photolist-4zWGbQ-4zSrRp-81KXwy-oH2Vf-bs5mCC-8xWZ5x-9xHL7s-9xEQxp-9okAH6-c8vs1N-7DhjtZ-9xHQF7-9xHUn3-9xEYDP-9xHPL3-9xEWY6-9xEXLi-c8vt9N-c8vsFb-c8vspw-9oDA2r-6VC8C2-du8qH3-9wozwW-du2R3c-61nTsD-61s74d-9ooxos-du8mCf-du8gXh-du8sFN-du8jh5-du8pML-7DhGhT-7Dhj3r-9okwCe-7DhjNi-7DhGJn-du8eBG-7DmtYq-du8o1y-du8few-9okyai-7Dmtrj-7DhEDD-6VC8BR-9ooBeS-aEqrYK-aEmJoB-du2Gyk/

”Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière: statue du Docteur Pinel” by Frédérique PANASSAC, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Three weeks ago, I started teaching. And I love it! My students are adorable, they are smart and polite, and they laugh about almost all of my jokes (the only exception is that nobody seemed to find it funny that I thought Cambodia is an African country until I was in my teens—maybe they still believe it themselves??). Yay to teaching!

If you want to see me in action, join the first lecture I will be giving: Beth Linker, for whose Medicine in History lecture course I’m teaching two recitation sections, invited me to guest lecture this Wednesday, 10–11 am. So if you don’t have anything better to do (and what could be better than that?), sneak into Claudia Cohen Hall 402.—More input on my work to follow shortly. I have to read (and talk) about the French Revolution in Medicine first.

Digital Scholarship on Marriage and Depression

Yesterday was the ultimate software day for me. Confined to bed with a serious cold (I should have insisted on a warm beer at our History of Medicine class end-of-term dinner the night before), I finished my paper on statistical software for fMRI data analysis. Because this led only to a severe headache, and not to the feeling my head would explode every second, I decided to go on working and did my first digital humanities project ever. Here it is: Continue reading