Les critiques de l'autorité médicale

Critiques of Medical Authority in the Long 1960s

Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting, Atlanta 2014

We are seeking an additional paper for a panel (tentatively titled “The borders of biomedicine: Critiques of medical authority in the long 1960s”) to be delivered at the OAH conference in 2014.

The “long 1960s” were a time of social and political upheaval. This panel will explore how critics from across the political spectrum challenged biomedical claims, practices, and institutions during this period. In addition to illustrating the ways in which the era’s conflicts played out in the medical field, the papers’ analyses of politicized public health debates also help us reevaluate past assumptions about the legacy of this contentious time period. We invite proposals that can contribute to this conversation. In keeping with the conference theme (“Crossing Borders”), we particularly welcome submissions from panelists who bring comparative or transnational approaches to this topic.

Claire Clark (MPH/PhD candidate, Emory) will discuss how and why the therapeutic community model of addiction treatment pioneered by the Synanon commune was scaled up by the federal government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Elena Conis (Assistant Professor of History, Emory) will discuss the New Left’s critiques of studies about the health effects of DDT in the 1960s. Bill Rorabaugh (Professor of History, University of

Washington) will serve as panel chair and commentator.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Claire at cdclar4@emory.edu by February 22, 2013.

The deadline for proposals for OAH is February 28th, 2013.