Vésale et l'invention du corps moderne

Vesalius and the Invention of the Modern Body

Interdisciplinary symposium

This interdisciplinary symposium will celebrate the 500-year anniversary of the birth of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), founder of the study of modern human anatomy. Saint Louis University and Washington University plan to jointly host three days of events especially inspired by the landmark publication of Vesalius’s De humani corporis fabrica (Basel, 1543 and 1555) and the new critical edition and translation of this work, the New Fabrica. The conference program will feature a roster of internationally-renowned speakers, including keynote speakers Daniel Garrison, Malcolm Hast, and Sachiko Kusukawa. In addition to the presentation of academic papers of leading research, the schedule will also include an anatomy demonstration, rare books workshops, and a publishers’ exhibit hall.

Because the Fabrica represented a collaborative project involving a scientist (Vesalius), a humanist (Johannes Oporinus, the printer), and an artist (Jan van Kalkar), the goal of the conference is to encourage a network of scholars working in disparate fields to explore the potential for future interdisciplinary research.

February 26
Saint Louis University — Medical Center Library
6:00-9:00pm WELCOME RECEPTION


Opening Remarks: Philip Gavitt (Saint Louis University) and Gregory Smith (Saint Louis University)
Session/Event at Medical School (TBD)



February 27
Saint Louis University — Frost Campus
8:00 - 9:00am REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST


DuBourg Hall-Pere Marquette
Publishers’ Exhibit Hall open 8:00am-5:30pm [DuBourg-Grand Hall]
8:45am CONFERENCE WELCOME


Opening Remarks: Philip Gavitt (Saint Louis University)
9:00am SESSION 1 - Public Dissections as Spectacle in Early Modern Europe


DuBourg Hall-Pere Marquette Room
Session Chair: Anne Stiles (Saint Louis University)

Speaker #1: Andrea Carlino (University of Geneva)
Speaker #2: Cynthia Klestinec (University of Miami Ohio)
10:30am COFFEE BREAK
11:00am SESSION 2 - Discovery and Deconstruction of the Body: Cultural Contexts of the Fabrica


DuBourg Hall – Pere Marquette Room
Session Chair: Sara van den Berg (Saint Louis University)

Speaker #3: Jonathan Sawday (Saint Louis University)
Speaker #4: Glenn Harcourt (Independent Scholar)
12:30am LUNCH BREAK


Lunch at Saint Louis University – Refectory, DuBourg Hall
Shuttle service from DuBourg Hall to Young Hall
2:00pm SESSION 3 - Mapping the Interior: 3D Anatomy Demonstration


Young Hall Auditorium
*Session 3 is sponsored by the generosity of the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society
3:30pm COFFEE BREAK


Shuttle service from Young Hall to DuBourg Hall
4:00pm KEYNOTE ADDRESS - Creating the New Fabrica


DuBourg Hall – Pere Marquette Hallway
Introduction by: Jonathan Sawday (Saint Louis University)
Keynote Speakers: Daniel Garrison and Malcolm Hast (Northwestern University)
6:00 - 7:30pm RECEPTION


Pius XII Memorial Library – 2nd floor/TBD



February 28
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
8:00am REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST


EPNEC Center

8:45am OPENING REMARKS


by Thomas Woolsey
9:00am SESSION 4 - Anatomical Specimens in the Early Modern Period


EPNEC Center
Session Chair: TBD

Speaker #5: Rebecca Messbarger (Washington University in St. Louis)
Speaker #6: Joanna Ebenstein (Morbid Anatomy Museum)
10:30am COFFEE BREAK
11:00am SESSION 5 - From the Renaissance to the Present: 19th and 20th Century Anatomical Imagery


EPNEC Center
Session Chair: TBD

Speaker #7: Michael Sappol (National Library of Medicine)
Speaker #8: Gilbert Jost (Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine)
12:30am LUNCH BREAK


Lunch at Washington University in St. Louis - EPNEC Center
2:00pm SESSION 6 - Concurrent Rare Book Workshops


Becker Medical Library
Workshop #1 – Suzanne Karr Schmidt (Art Institute of Chicago)
Workshop #2 – Marisa Anne Bass (Washington University in St. Louis)
Workshop #3 – Cynthia Wichelman (Washington University in St. Louis)
3:30pm BREAK
4:15pm KEYNOTE ADDRESS


EPNEC Center
Introduction by: Rebecca Messbarger (Washington University in St. Louis)
Keynote Speaker: Sachiko Kusukawa (Cambridge University)
5:45-7:30pm RECEPTION



EPNEC Center