Medicine

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.

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.

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.