Quantification et mesure dans les conseils de santé britanniques

Quantification and Measurement in British Health Advice, c. 1670–1830. Diet, Exercise, and Body Weight in Iatromechanics

Marsha Wubbels

Palgrave MacMillan

Open Access
© 2026

This open access book explores how medical advice on diet, exercise, and body weight evolved in Britain between 1670 and 1830. Focusing on the growing use of measurement and quantification, it shows how ideas of a ‘healthy’ body were defined and debated in medical literature. Bringing together three topics rarely examined in combination, the study offers a fresh perspective on eighteenth-century health practices. Drawing primarily on printed health guides, alongside letters and diaries, it argues that the period from 1680 to 1780 marked a formative moment in the development of modern health advice.

Le nu médical dans le long XIXe siècle

The Medical Nude in the Long Nineteenth Century

Call for papers

Association for Art History Conference, University of Exeter, 7–9 April 2027
Deadline: 25 October 2026

Dr Hannah Halliwell and Dr Rebecca Whiteley invite proposals for their AAH panel 'The Medical Nude in the Long Nineteenth Century'.

The nude is an art-historical stress test. As Lynda Nead tells us, it stands at the pinnacle of fine art and yet is always in danger of slipping into the unacceptable, the obscene. This dual identity has made it of central importance to the methodological development of aesthetics and connoisseurship in the nineteenth century, and feminist art history in the late twentieth. This panel proposes that the nude is once again needed as art historians test the capacities of a new methodological approach: the medical humanities.

The nineteenth century saw science and medicine radically reshape understandings of the body and its relation to identity. The nude, science and medicine were deeply entangled in fine art, in epistemic images, and in print cultures. But only recently have art historians and historians of science and medicine considered these interactions. How can the medical humanities reframe our understanding of the age-old art-historical concept of the nude? In what ways did science and medicine make use of the nude in constructing notions of race, class, gender, sexuality, morality and beauty?

This session will explore the extent and importance of the overdue conversation between the idealised body in fine art and the scientised body in medicine. We welcome papers on any aspect of the medical nude in the long nineteenth century. We are especially interested in constructing an interdisciplinary and global narrative, exploring all kinds of visual material of the medical nude from a range of perspectives.

For information on how to apply, see here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://forarthistory.org.uk/93-the-medical-nude-in-the-long-nineteenth-century/__;!!CF15FET90Tp8!HyrALrW0rh3QTMK72A-pDgDYZqD-o50DgZkFl7x6pW3h1HJrkUDE7hJWiRPtrROyVvnvJbRBEqTqhL0P0DGRXxY$

If you have any questions please contact Rebecca at r.k.whiteley@bham.ac.uk

Les rendez-vous du CRIHM

Les rendez-vous du CRIHM. Cercle de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les humanités médicales

SAISON 4 — Séminaire 2026-2027

Sciences Po Lille

9 rue Auguste Angellier

Lille

Du 16 octobre au 18 juin 2026

Responsables

Claire Barillé, Samy Bounoua, Marie Derrien, Anselme Dojat-Gouttard, Gabriel Galvez-Behar, Léo Heuguebart, Clément Marquez, Mélanie Traversier (HARTIS, ULille) ; Charles-Antoine Wanecq (CPJ, HARTIS, Sciences Po–Lille)

Contacts

Aurélie Gyselinck (HARTIS, Pont-de-Bois) — aurelie.gyselinck@univ-lille.fr —

Sophie Becart (Sciences Po Lille) — sophie.becart@sciencespo-lille.eu —


16 octobre 2026 – 10h00 - 16h00 – salle 1.34
—> Organes

10h — Tiphaine LOURS (CHSP, Sciences Po Paris)
Sélectionner, collecter, conserver les greffons : histoire des enjeux et difficultés du prélèvement des tissus destinés à la greffe en France (seconde moitié du XIXe siècle–années 1920)

— Emma PACCHIANA (CRISES, UMontpellier)
Le chantier des savoirs sur les organes génitaux féminins au XVIIIe-XIXe siècle

14h — Olivier CHRISTIN (EPHE) et François ZANETTI (ECHELLES, Paris Cité)
La littérature médicale à l’estomac. Retour sur une controverse stomacale au début du XVIIIe siècle

Resp. : Claire Barillé, Anselme Dojat-Gouttard, Mélanie Traversier

13 novembre 2026 – 10h00 - 16h00 – salle 2.44
—> Exil

10h — Chloé TISSERAND (Sciences Po Lille)
Comprendre la frontière migratoire au prisme du travail de la médecine de l’urgence humanitaire, hospitalière et légale

— Giovanni MATERA (ARENES, EHESS)
La coopération entre organisations dans la réponse aux troubles psychiques des personnes migrantes

14h — Laurence MONNAIS (Institut des humanités en médecine, CHUVaudois/ULausanne)
(Im)mobilités virales : Rougeole, réfugiés et vaccinations de masse (1967–2026)

Resp. : Marie Derrien, Valentin Mériaux, Charles-Antoine Wanecq

19 février 2027 – 10h00 - 16h00 – salle 2.44
—> Inégalités

10h — Élodie EDWARDS–GROSSI (IRISSO, Paris Dauphine–PSL)
La fin du rêve californien ? Interroger la pétrotoxicité en croisant l’analyse des inégalités sociales et de la santé environnementale

— Justine BERTHOD (CREDA, Sorbonne Nouvelle)
Les inégalités de l’évitement. Sanitarisation de l’alimentation et gouvernement individualisé du risque chlordécone en Martinique

14h — Muriel DARMON (CESSP, USorbonne Paris Nord)
Comment les inégalités sociales de santé s’inscrivent-elles dans les cerveaux ?

Resp. : Marie Derrien, Léo Heuguebart, Clément Marquez


2 avril 2027 – 10h00 - 16h00 – salle 1.34
—> Âges de la vie

10h — Marie DERRIEN (HARTIS, ULille) et Mathilde ROSSIGNEUX-MÉHEUST (LARHRA, ULyon2)
« Encore une vieille ! Où va-t-on la mettre ? ». Faire l’expérience des troubles psychiques du grand âge, du XIXe siècle aux années 1980

— Lucas BOUGUEREAU (CHR, EHESS)
Pathologiser les sexualités juvéniles : expertise psychiatrique et justice des mineurs au cours du premier XXe siècle (France-Belgique)

14h — Benoît CRET (PACTE, UGrenople Alpes)
Capter le bon résident : une approche morphologique et stratégique de la concurrence entre Ehpads

Resp. : Anselme Dojat-Gouttard, Mélanie Traversier

18 juin 2027 – 10h00 - 16h00 – salle 2.44
—> March ands, march andisations

10h — Alexandre GETENET (Centre Roland Mousnier, Sorbonne Université)
« Il préféra à sa fortune l’honneur de les secourir ». Praticiens et marchés de la santé dans les colonies de la monarchie française (XVIIIe siècle)

— Amandine DANDEL (Archives Henri Poincaré, ULorraine)
Lobbying scientifique du Cédus : promouvoir le sucre en tant que source d’énergie indispensable (années 1950–années 1960)

14h — Paul TURBERG (Institut des humanités en médecine, CHUVaudois/ULausanne)
Les marchands du médicament. Industriels suisses, organisations patronales et régulation pharmaceutique mondiale (1945–1990)

Resp. : Anselme Dojat-Gouttard, Clément Marquez, Mélanie Traversier

Séances en hybride à ce lien =>
https://univ-lille-fr.zoom.us/j/99153463070?pwd=UtykRdd8etj59rpzCxfqMYcu3Yfrez.1

[ID de réunion : 991 5346 3070 — Code secret : 863305]

La mystérieuse maladie du négus Iyasu Ier

Jacques-Charles Poncet et la mystérieuse maladie du négus Iyasu Ier (1698-1701)
 

Pierre Aubry, Bernard-Alex Gaüzère
 

L'Harmattan
Date de publication : 07/09/2026
Collection : Médecine à travers les siècles

 

Il s’agit ici d’une enquête menée par deux médecins, férus d’histoire et spécialistes en médecine tropicale, qui tentent d’identifier rétrospectivement la nature exacte de la maladie dont souffraient le négus d’Éthiopie et l’un de ses fils, à la toute fin du XVIIe siècle, au point de faire appel à un médecin français établi au Caire. En se basant sur les aventures du docteur Poncet, d’après ses propres écrits, il s’agit d’évoquer des hypothèses diagnostiques, à la lumière des données acquises de la médecine, de l’épidémiologie des maladies — dont la présence a été attestée en Éthiopie de manière irréfutable — et de notre expérience professionnelle. Scorbut ? Lèpre ? Leishmaniose ? Syphilis ? Autre dermatose ?

Les germes dans l'histoire

Poxed: Germs in History

Exhibition Launch 

Thursday 29th October

6pm - 8pm

£10

Physicians’ Gallery, 11 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JQ

Booking - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exhibition-launch-of-poxed-germs-in-history-tickets-1992649993772



The event will begin in our foyer with a reception. You will then have the opportunity to hear two speakers, Professor Christos Lynteris and Dr Janet Scott. Christos will discuss the history of infectious diseases while Janet will discuss modern infectious diseases.

The reception will then continue with the opportunity to visit our new exhibition.

Chaired by Dr Rebecca K Sutherland, Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician, Honorary Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh University and CRDC Lead at NHS Lothian.


About the exhibition:

Using books, illustrations and objects from our collections, this exhibition explores the changing history of humanity’s relationship with microorganisms. From fear and superstitions to scientific discoveries, from magic spells to vaccines, this exhibition shows the human cost of epidemic diseases and the ways germs changed the way we live today.

The first theme of the exhibition explores the ways people coped with the constant threat of epidemics in times of ignorance and superstitions. The second theme looks at early medical theories of infection and the first glimpses into the secret word of germs.


The third theme explores the fear and stigma that followed sick and infected people through history. Finally, it looks at the history of different therapies against infectious diseases and the development of vaccines.

Les systèmes de santé en Afrique centrale

Systèmes de santé en Afrique centrale. Dynamiques d’appropriation des politiques mondiales et enjeux de gouvernance en zone CEMAC (1945-2025)

Pierre Marie Tebeu


L'Harmattan

Date de publication : 24/09/2026

Collection : Ethique et pratique médicale

À travers une perspective historique et analytique couvrant la période de 1945 à 2025, cet ouvrage explore la transformation des systèmes de santé dans les États membres de la CEMAC (Cameroun, Centrafrique, Congo, Gabon, Guinée équatoriale, Tchad).

À l’intersection entre orientations sanitaires mondiales et réalités socio-économiques locales, l’auteur analyse les processus d’appropriation, d’adaptation et de négociation des politiques publiques de santé. Face aux crises épidémiologiques, aux contraintes financières et aux défis structurels, ce livre offre un diagnostic sans complaisance de la gouvernance sanitaire régionale. Il met en évidence les réussites, identifie les vulnérabilités et propose des orientations stratégiques pour construire des systèmes de santé résilients, équitables et souverains au service des populations d’Afrique centrale. Un outil indispensable pour chercheurs, décideurs et acteurs du développement.

Le corps féminin froid chez Oliva Sabuco

The Cold Female Body in Oliva Sabuco. Motherhood, Semen, and Milk

  

Talk by Jil Muller, Universität Paderborn

 

 Free webinar offered by the Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance - CSMBR:

7 October 2026 - 5 pm (CEST) 

 

Did an early modern woman rethink the female body? Jil Muller shows how Oliva Sabuco (1562-1646) reinterpreted women's role in generation and breastfeeding by reworking the inherited traditions of Galenic, Hippocratic, and Avicennian medicine. In this lecture, she argues that Sabuco transformed the notion of the "cold" female body from a sign of weakness into a necessary condition of fertility and maternal nurture, while remaining firmly within the framework of early modern natural philosophy.

Nouvelles histoires diplomatiques de la coopération Nord-Sud en matière de santé publique

Fighting Pandemics from Below. New Diplomatic Histories of Global North-South Public Health Cooperation


Call for papers

International Conference 

Utrecht University | 30 September – 1 October 2027

Organised by the ERC COOPERATION project , in collaboration with the Quarantine Studies Network



During the COVID-19 pandemic, the inadequacy of health cooperation between the so-called global north and south had dire and lethal consequences for humanity. The rapid spread of the disease, alarming death rates and governments’ unilateral agendas led to repeated calls from health experts for collaborative action across the globe. Instead, the world has witnessed heightened geopolitical rivalries, reproduction of Orientalist binaries and vaccine inequity that deprioritize health as a global public good. Today, health practitioners and scholars across disciplines agree that building new coordination mechanisms and, by this means, strengthening the capacity of local community groups in lower-income countries is crucial to stamp out communicable diseases. While these appeals are in line with the mantra of humanitarian efforts since the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016, ‘as local as possible, as international as necessary’, there is still limited consensus as to how we can induce and sustain localised sanitary internationalism.

With these pressing issues in mind, we would like to invite historians of diplomacy, medicine, IR, empires, and other related fields to turn to the guidance of the past. The ‘Fighting Pandemics from Below’ international conference will be organized at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, on 30 September – 1 October 2027 by ERC COOPERATION project team with the support of the Quarantine Studies Network. In this conference, we will discuss histories of localised sanitary internationalism with a view to publishing an edited volume.

We define sanitary internationalism as ‘the organised, coordinated efforts of multiple international actors to confront shared health challenges and pursue collective health outcomes across borders.’ Its historiography habitually considers the fourteen international sanitary conferences (ISCs) that were held between 1851 and 1938 as the onset of sanitary internationalism. Yet, as the ERC COOPERATION project team argues, the year 1851, so often recorded as the founding moment, was in practice a moment of rupture. It disrupted a localised global north–south public health cooperation that had already taken root in the international sanitary councils of Tangier, Tunis, Alexandria, and Istanbul. By fighting pandemics from below, rather than relying on high-level intergovernmental gatherings and conventions alone, the councils obtained more concrete results at a time when the ISCs were at a loss.

The conference and the ensuing volume will build upon the postulations of the ERC COOPERATION project. We welcome proposals on the sanitary councils and the histories around them, but equally on similar moments, regimes and institutions of localised sanitary internationalism beyond the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and in other parts of the world. Rather than drawing on social histories of health alone, we would like to think together on new diplomatic histories of public health, and to ask what the preconditions were for effective or failed international health cooperation from below. We particularly look for abstracts on the long nineteenth century (c. 1780s–1940s), though papers reaching before or after are equally welcome.

Possible themes: 

• Health boards and magistrates as forms of institutionalised public health
• Sanitary councils in MENA (esp. Tangier, Tunis, Alexandria, Beirut, Smyrna/Izmir, Istanbul and Tehran) and beyond
• Cities, ports, and hinterlands as transimperial sites of public health cooperation
• The commerce-health nexus
• Sovereignty, legitimacy, and international public health
• Finances of localised sanitary internationalism: taxes and loans
• Transimperial quarantine regimes, institutions and practices
• Urban reform, sanitation, and sanitary imperialism
• Policing movement: pilgrims, passengers, and the control of contagion
• Quarantine experiences
• Women, gender and, the practice of sanitary internationalism
• Epidemiological Orientalism and Occidentalism
• Epizootics, cattle plague and livestock quarantine
• Inter-pandemics and recovery periods for pandemic preparedness

Conference format

This is an in-person event. The conference is conceived as a publication-oriented workshop: participants are required to circulate their papers in advance and engage in in-depth discussion with the work of others over the course of the two days, with a view to contributing a chapter to the edited volume.

Application and deadlines

– An abstract of no more than 350 words and a brief biographical note (max. 150 words)

– Presentation language: English

– Deadline for proposals: 30 November 2026

Notification of acceptance: 18 January 2027

Pre-circulation of papers: Two weeks before the conference

Please send your abstract and short bio in one word document to Dr Yasmine Najm (y.najm@uu.nl) and Bianca Visser (b.visser@uu.nl).

The organisers will cover travel and accommodation for accepted participants, and provide visa invitation letters on request.