Summer School
8 - 10 July 2025
Domus Comeliana - Pisa
Organiser: Michael Stolberg
Keynote Speakers: Sandra Cavallo, Heidi Hausse, Vivian Nutton, Katharine Park, Michael Stolberg, Tillmann Taape
Early Bird Deadline: 15 April 2025
Inspired by the writings of the ancients, Renaissance scholarship placed great emphasis on anatomy. Together with botany and clinical medicine, it became a major driving force behind the growing appreciation of empirical approaches beyond the mere reception of the classics. Anatomists were proud of their new discoveries and began to argue over priorities. Medical students flocked to places such as Ferrara and Padua for the often hands-on teaching of the leading anatomists of the day. Students also became more aware of the fundamental anatomical differences between men and women, leading them to abandon the "one sex model" in favour of emphasising the different anatomical make-up of women and the need for different treatments.
Animal dissection took on a new significance, going beyond substitution in the absence of a sufficient supply of human cadavers for teaching purposes. More importantly, post-mortems, the dissection of the deceased, became increasingly common in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were now seen as a window into the pathological processes and changes inside the diseased body. In the world of learned medicine, surgery was closely linked to anatomy. Both disciplines were often taught by the same professor, who might even demonstrate surgical procedures to his students on cadavers. In everyday medical practice, however, most doctors, especially outside Italy, considered surgery to be a less dignified, manual task, which they usually refrained from performing and delegated to the numerous artisanal barber-surgeons.
While historians of surgery have often focused on the development of major operations and sophisticated instruments, recent research has shown that ordinary surgical practice was much more mundane, focusing on minor injuries, fractures and illnesses, and rarely on amputations. Most surgical cases required conservative treatment with ointments, oils, plasters, etc.. Military surgeons, on the other hand, were much more in demand on the battlefield, to the point where amputations even gave rise to a culture of prosthetics. Finally, the larger, more invasive operations, such as the removal of bladder stones, the repair of hernias and harelips, and the removal of cataracts, remained largely the domain of a small group of mostly itinerant 'operateurs' who advertised their services on 'theatres' in marketplaces.
Organisation
The Summer School will provide an overview of the state of the art in the field, the major historiographical debates, and promising perspectives and sources for future research. It is aimed primarily at students and early-career researchers, but participants at later stages of their careers and with diverse backgrounds and interests are also welcome. Over three full days, the programme will feature a combination of keynote lectures and practical workshops. The latter will explore a variety of written and visual sources as well as material objects.
Please, note that the number of participants in Pisa will be limited to a max. 20, but the Summer School is hybrid and we invite those who cannot come to Pisa to participate online.
Santorio Fellowship
Funding to attend the summer school is available via the competitive Santorio Fellowship.
Info and Registrations at:
https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/cutting-and-curing-em-europe/
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