L'import-export épidémique

Ports, navires et marins dans "l'import-export épidémique" (XVIIe- XXe siècles)


ABPO 133-2026/2 

Forrer Anne (dir.), Gouffran Laure-Hélène (dir.), Séguy Isabelle (dir.)


Les articles présentés dans ce volume mettent en perspective l’augmentation et l’internationalisation des flux commerciaux avec la préoccupation naissante de la santé des marins, dans un contexte de colonisation de territoires ultramarins. Ils soulignent les représentations liées à cette circulation maritime des épidémies et éclairent le lecteur sur le rôle croissant de l’État, à partir de la seconde moitié du xviiie siècle, à la fois dans l’intensification du contrôle administratif des espaces littoraux métropolitains et coloniaux, et dans la mise en place de politiques sanitaires nouvelles.

 

Sommaire

Entre peurs et réalités : des navires porteurs de maladie/Between fears and reality: ships carrying disease

• Laure-Hélène Gouffran | Histoire d’un récit contaminé : quand la peste arrive à Marseille (1348-1720)The story of a contaminated narrative: when the plague struck Marseille (1348–1720)
• Gilbert Buti | Toulon malade de la peste (1664-1665). Circulation erratique du mal et fiasco militaire/Toulon stricken by the Plague (1664–1665). The erratic spread of the disease and a military debacle
• Anne Forrer | Un voyage aux conséquences imprévues. Quand le choléra s’embarque sur l’Étoile en 1848/A journey with unforeseen consequences. When cholera boarded the Étoile in 1848

Des conceptions médicales aux pratiques : médecins et capitaines à la barre/From medical concepts to practice: doctors and captains at the helm

• Alexandre Couturier | Contagion et infection à bord : discours sur l’étiologie des maladies épidémiques en mer en France au XVIIIe siècle/Contagion and infection on board: Discourse on the etiology of epidemic diseases at sea in 18th century France
• Isabelle Guégan | Des médecins à la manoeuvre pour éviter les épidémies à bord des escadres de la Royale au XVIIIe siècle/Doctors took charge of preventing outbreaks of disease on board the Royal Navy’s squadrons in the 18th century
• Denis Le Guen | Les marins de Nantes et la maladie de Siam à la fin du xviie et au début du XVIIIe siècle : le traitement disciplinaire d’une population mobile et captive/Sailors from Nantes and Siamese fever in the late 17th and early 18th centuries: Disciplinary measures against a mobile and captive population
• Rocco Boero | La gestion de l’information sanitaire dans l’espace méditerranéen, entre intérêts commerciaux et rivalités politiques. Le cas du capitaine Millich (1784)/Health information management in the Mediterranean region: Between commercial interests and political rivalries. The case of Captain Millich (1784)

Les espaces coloniaux à l’épreuve des épidémies/Colonial territories put to the test by epidemics

• Alexandre Getenet | La quarantaine dans les ports des colonies esclavagistes de la monarchie française (1685–1721)/Quarantine in the ports of the French monarchy’s slave-trading colonies (1685–1721)
• Nicolas Ribeiro | La création de l’avant-port de la Trinité à la Martinique en 1690 pour lutter contre la maladie de Siam/The establishment of the outer harbor of La Trinité in Martinique in 1690 to combat Siamese fever
• Guillaume Linte | Mobilités maritimes et circulation des maladies dans le premier empire colonial français : le cas du « retour » de la lèpre au XVIIIe siècle)Maritime mobility and the circulation of diseases in the first French colonial empire: the “return” of leprosy in the 18th century
• Marie Brualla Challet | « Ils portent le choléra dans leur culotte ». Enjeux politiques et économiques de la défense sanitaire maritime en Océanie (1890-1930)/“They carry cholera in their pants.” political and economic issues in maritime public health in Oceania (1890–1930)

Praticiens, patients et conflits de santé à Paris et à Londres (1300-1560)

Soigner en ville. Praticiens, patients et conflits de santé à Paris et à Londres (1300-1560)
 

Hélène Leuwers


Pages: 413 p.
Size:178 x 254 mm
Illustrations:1 tables b/w.
Language(s):French
Publication Year:2026

À Paris et à Londres, entre le XIVe et le milieu du XVIe siècle, les médecins, chirurgiens et barbiers ne se partagent pas les soins et les pathologies à traiter sans tensions. Dans ces milieux de santé urbains hétérogènes et concurrentiels, des conflits professionnels éclatent à propos du droit d’exercer en ville, des pratiques irrégulières et des prérogatives des différents corps de soignants. Ces querelles s’ajoutent à celles qui opposent des praticiens à leurs patients au sujet des soins et de leur rémunération, dans le cadre d’activités qui doivent composer avec l’évolution imprévisible des maladies et la faillibilité du thérapeute.

Les conflits judiciaires invitent à découvrir, sur fond de crises épidémiques, la médecine et la chirurgie du quotidien, les prémices de la responsabilité des soignants, l’évolution des attentes des patients, les dynamiques historiques qui façonnent les groupes professionnels et la progression des préoccupations sanitaires des autorités urbaines, universitaires et souveraines. Les différends se révèlent étonnamment féconds : ils permettent aux acteurs de s’approprier des moyens d’action, de définir leurs conceptions de la médecine et de la chirurgie, de forger les normes qui encadrent les pratiques et de renforcer leur cohésion professionnelle.

Albert Sabin

Albert Sabin: The Life of a Polio Vaccine Pioneer

Karen Torghele  




Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 23, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300272634
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300272635




The untold story of Albert Sabin, who developed the oral polio vaccine and became a controversial public health advocate for children worldwide

Jonas Salk may be the name most associated with the polio vaccine, but it was Albert Sabin’s oral vaccine that made the goal of global eradication of poliomyelitis a possibility. Epidemiologist Karen Torghele draws on exclusive interviews, archival research, and the scientist’s own lab notebooks to deliver the first definitive biography of Sabin (1906–1993). She reveals a man driven by compulsion, whom Yale virologist John R. Paul described as “a fierce joy” when he was making new discoveries. But though his work reshaped virology and vaccine development, he was burdened by ego and an abrasive personality that would haunt his legacy.

Sabin’s journey spanned continents and conflicts, from being a World War II hero to facilitating Cold War diplomacy, culminating in a risky experiment to test his vaccine in the USSR near the peak of the McCarthy era. Torghele combines biography and science to establish Sabin’s place in medical history, illuminating the research, politics, and private issues behind one of the twentieth century’s most controversial personalities―and offering insight into what we can learn from Sabin’s experiences as we address vaccine

Histoire de la recherche biomédicale

Histoire de la recherche biomédicale : soutien financier aux étudiants (Master/doctorat) – 2026–2027

Appel à candidatures

Le Comité pour l’histoire de l’Inserm propose un soutien financier aux étudiantes et aux étudiants en histoire ou en sciences humaines et sociales qui préparent un master ou un doctorat sur l’histoire de la santé publique et de la recherche biomédicale. Date limite de dépôt des candidatures : 12 octobre 2026.

Le Comité pour l’histoire de l’Inserm propose une aide financière aux étudiants de master qui souhaitent s’engager dans une recherche qui concerne directement l’histoire de l’Institut ou plus largement l’histoire de la recherche biomédicale et des questions de santé. Cette aide est accordée aux meilleurs projets retenus par le Comité, après examen d’un dossier de candidature.

Le Comité examine également des candidatures de doctorants qui demandent une aide spécifique et limitée : il ne s’agit pas de l’attribution de contrats doctoraux.

Le montant annuel des aides peut atteindre 3 000 €, en fonction des spécificités de chaque projet (accès aux sources, mobilité…).

Les candidats peuvent proposer un sujet élaboré avec leur directeur de recherche ou bien s’appuyer sur les thématiques et les sujets proposés dans le livret de l’appel à candidatures à télécharger ci-dessous.

Pour en savoir plus, télécharger le livret de l’appel à candidatures (pdf, 1 Mo)

Date limite de dépôt des candidatures : 12 octobre 2026.

Pour toute information, contactez le secrétariat scientifique du Comité.







Laboratoire du centre de recherche sur la tuberculose, Institut national d’hygiène, 1962 – Archives de Inserm.

La fabrique du lait humain

La fabrique du lait humain. Droit et histoire des lactariums en France
 

Mathilde Cohen

ENS Éditions
2026

Situé à la croisée de l'histoire, du droit et des études de genre, cet ouvrage s'inscrit dans les débats contemporains sur la santé reproductive, le care et la place du corps maternel dans les politiques publiques. Il interroge un objet encore peu étudié : le lait humain, lorsqu’il circule hors des corps.
Que devient ce fluide une fois exprimé, conservé et distribué au moyen de dispositifs techniques et institutionnels ? Comment, alors même qu’il est souvent présenté comme intime, a-t-il été progressivement investi par le droit et la médecine ? De sa collecte auprès de nourrices à la création des lactariums, l’ouvrage retrace, des années 1880 à nos jours, les étapes de cette transformation. Il montre comment la production de lait est passée d’un travail rémunéré à un geste désormais présenté comme exclusivement altruiste, réglementé par le droit de la santé et de la bioéthique.
S’appuyant sur un vaste corpus de sources – archives, textes juridiques, entretiens et observations de terrain –, ce livre met en lumière des enjeux longtemps restés dans l’ombre autour du travail de reproduction, de la maternité et de l’allaitement envisagé comme une forme de care collectif. Il s’adresse aux historien·nes, juristes et sociologues, mais aussi à toutes celles et ceux qui s’intéressent aux relations entre genre, santé et institutions.

La surdité dans la Méditerranée moderne

Deafness in the Premodern Mediterranean


Call for papers

VivaMente Conference in the History of Ideas

17 - 18 November 2026 

This VivaMente conference will explore the topic of deafness and the role of deaf people in Mediterranean antiquity and the pre-modern era, examining it from historical, medical and socio-cultural perspectives.

Despite its historical significance, this topic remains underexplored; however, academic interest in disabilities in the ancient world has undergone a significant renewal in recent years. In light of new research perspectives that move beyond the traditional, pathology-centred approach to encompass a broader consideration of social and cultural dynamics, the history of deafness and deaf individuals represents a field of study requiring an interdisciplinary approach.

Set within the increasing recognition of Deaf culture at public and academic levels, the conference is intended to situate deafness within the broader framework of the history of ideas. Rather than treating deafness solely as a social condition or an object of modern Deaf cultural studies, the conference will examine the evolving intellectual categories through which deafness was defined, explained and categorised in ancient and medieval societies. Particular attention will be paid to the historical transformation of concepts such as hearing, speech, silence, impairment, education, communication and disability, and to the ways in which these categories were shaped by philosophical, theological, legal, linguistic and medical discourses.

A central goal is therefore to promote dialogue between scholars of various disciplines to create the most comprehensive and multifaceted picture possible of deafness in premodern history. Beyond shedding light on specific aspects of ancient and medieval culture, this reflection also aims to encourage critically examining the persistence of certain historical conceptions in contemporary perceptions of deafness and disability as a whole.
 

Organination

Scholars working on any area relevant to the conference are invited to submit a proposal consisting of a title and an abstract. Proposals should not exceed 250 words and should be accompanied by a short biographical note. Contributions may address any aspect relevant to the conference’s theme (ancient, medieval, and early modern), as well as broader comparative or methodological approaches.


The deadline for submission is 10 September 2026.


The organisers will select the proposals with a view to both the conference programme and the publication of the proceedings. Selected speakers will be invited to complete the registration process after acceptance. The conference proceedings will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication in the series Palgrave Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Medicine.


For further details and to register for this event, please click here.

Les Carnets d’histoire de la médecine

Les Carnets d’histoire de la médecine

Numéro 8 (juin 2026)

La Faculté de médecine de l’Université de Tours publie le huitième numéro des Carnets d’histoire de la médecine. Ce numéro est consacré aux liens complexes entre corps, esprit et maladie mentale à travers un dossier exceptionnel autour de Nadja d’André Breton et de la véritable histoire de Léona Delcourt, dont le dossier médical a été récemment retrouvé. Il propose également un article sur la méthode d'analyse de Charcot et un éclairage sur les premières femmes psychiatres en France.

https://med.univ-tours.fr/version-francaise/actualites/vie-de-la-faculte/parution-les-carnets-dhistoire-de-la-medecine-numero-8

Une introduction scandaleusement courte à l'histoire de la médecine

Histoire de la médecine. Une introduction scandaleusement courte

Jacalyn Duffin 

 

McGill-Queen's University Press

Juin 2026

Une introduction vivante et accessible au passé de la médecine, de l’Antiquité à nos jours, s’appuyant sur le meilleur de la recherche contemporaine. 

 

Histoire de la médecine de Jacalyn Duffin est un ouvrage phare pour comprendre l'histoire de la maladie, de la guérison, et des professions de la santé qui y sont impliquées.

Privilégiant les concepts généraux plutôt que les noms et les dates, cet ouvrage intègre des exemples concis tirés de diverses périodes et de divers lieux, sur fond d’esprit et d’humour. L’œuvre est fondée sur une solide érudition et sur des recherches méticuleuses : elle met en évidence les nouvelles recherches sur le passé et intègre les événements médicaux importants de la dernière décennie – notamment les nouvelles technologies, les pénuries de médicaments, l’aide médicale à mourir et les récentes épidémies de maladies infectieuses, telles que l’Ebola, le Zika et la COVID-19. L'ouvrage s'articule autour de thèmes d'intérêts scientifiques et cliniques, tels que l'anatomie, la physiologie, la pharmacologie, la chirurgie, l'obstétrique, la formation médicale, la prestation des soins et la santé publique. Les besoins de groupes particuliers de patients – femmes, enfants, personnes en situation de handicap, Autochtones et personnes racialisées – sont abordés. Le dernier chapitre du livre aborde la recherche en histoire de la médecine, mis à jour avec de nouvelles ressources.

Véritable tournée éclair de son sujet, Histoire de la médecine est sensible au pouvoir de la recherche historique pour éclairer les pratiques de santé actuelles et améliorer la compréhension culturelle de la médecine parmi un grand public. 

Lucien Bonnafé

Lucien Bonnafé.  De la psychothérapie institutionnelle à le sectorisation psychiatrique


Sébastien Rubinstein


Eres

2026

Préface de Marie BONNAFE

Postface de Pierre DELION


Cet ouvrage retrace le parcours de Lucien Bonnafé, figure majeure de la psychiatrie française, et met en lumière son rôle décisif dans la genèse du secteur psychiatrique.

Lucien Bonnafé (1912-2003), psychiatre désaliéniste, surréaliste, communiste et résistant, a eu un rôle décisif dans la genèse du secteur psychiatrique. En suivant son parcours intellectuel et militant, cet ouvrage éclaire son engagement, aux côtés de François Tosquelles, de Georges Daumezon et de beaucoup d’autres, pour refonder la psychiatrie française.

À partir de l’expérience pionnière de l'hôpital de Saint-Alban, berceau de la psychothérapie institutionnelle, Lucien Bonnafé conçoit une psychiatrie désaliéniste fondée sur la continuité des soins, la prévention et le maintien du lien social. Le secteur psychiatrique, dont la loi de 1985 consacre l’existence, devient l’expression d’une philosophie humaniste de la thérapie : soigner près du milieu de vie et dans le respect de la dignité du patient.

À la croisée de l’histoire, du droit et de la pensée médicale, Sébastien Rubinstein explore la transformation d’une discipline passée de l’enfermement asilaire à une approche ouverte sur la cité, en interrogeant ses conditions sociales et politiques. Il montre comment une pensée médicale novatrice, née de la pratique, a conduit à une réforme institutionnelle et législative majeure.

Petit dictionnaire historique des charlatans

Petit dictionnaire historique des charlatans, des opérateurs et de leurs secrets

Jean-Baptiste Seigneuric

ExAequo
Parution : 11 juin 2026
Collection : Collection Les Savoirs

Arracheurs de dents, opérateurs pour la cataracte, vendeurs de remèdes en tous genres et en même temps, marionnettistes ou montreurs d’animaux exotiques, les charlatans ont sillonné l’Europe depuis l’Antiquité. Á travers plusieurs centaines d’entrées, ce dictionnaire restitue leur univers folklorique, cette part obscure et fascinante de l’histoire de la médecine.

Alcool et cinéma en France depuis les années 1960

Jusqu’à plus soif. Alcool et cinéma en France depuis les années 1960

Erwan Pointeau-Lagadec

Hygée Éditions
2026

La France entretient avec l’alcool, et le vin en particulier, un rapport singulier. Malgré un coût social et sanitaire considérable, malgré l’évolution des usages (recul du vin quotidien, montée du binge drinking, essor du Dry January), l’alcool reste ancré dans l’imaginaire national. Pourquoi ?
Croisant histoire, sciences de l’information et santé publique, cet essai analyse les représentations de l’alcool dans les longs-métrages de fiction français depuis les années 1960. Il montre que le cinéma véhicule durablement une image positive de l’alcool : ses effets négatifs sont invisibilisés, tandis que ses dimensions festives et identitaires sont valorisées. L’alcool y apparaît comme ciment social, comme marqueur de la « French way of life ». Ces représentations perdurent alors même que les normes et les pratiques se transforment profondément.
Erwan Pointeau-Lagadec met au jour un « découplage » entre l’évolution réelle des usages et la permanence des images véhiculées par le cinéma populaire, révélant le rôle discret mais puissant de la culture dans la banalisation des conduites addictives.

Vendre des remèdes, acheter la santé dans la Grèce et la Rome antiques

Selling Pharmaka, Buying Health in Ancient Greece and Rome  
 

Laurence Totelin

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 14, 2026
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 250 pages 
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1138216082

This book examines Greek and Roman pharmacology in its mercantile dimensions, studying the people who were involved in the trade, the places where they worked, and the consumers whom they tried to attract through promises of health.

In the ancient Mediterranean, selling pharmacological substances and preparations meant big business. Selling Pharmaka, Buying Health in Ancient Greece and Rome draws upon a wealth of ancient medical literature and artefacts to reconstruct this ancient pharmacological trade, focusing on the first two and a half centuries of the Common Era but often touching upon other periods. It discusses the strategies that actors in the trade deployed to advertise their goods, the accusations of fraud and mercantilism that were levelled against them, and the varied responses of consumers to these tactics.

Blending approaches from medical and socio-economic history, this book will appeal to researchers interested in social approaches to ancient pharmacology. Written with a reader without classical languages in mind, it will also interest historians of medicine working on periods beyond antiquity.

Folie d’enfance

Folie d’enfance: portraits compassionnels d'enfants dans les asiles canadiens, 1900-1930
 

Exposition

Par Kira A. Smith

Entre 1900 et 1930, à travers tout le Canada, des enfants sont entrés dans des asiles d’aliénés conçus pour les adultes. Des soins leur étaient rarement offerts. Au contraire, les enfants étaient soumis à l’incarcération, l’eugénisme et l’abus institutionnel. L’environnement des asiles était souvent effrayant pour les enfants.

Ce sont leurs expériences qui sont au cœur de cette exposition. Six histoires d’enfants qui révèlent comment les soins qu’ils ont reçus ont été influencés par le contexte socio-politique.

Se retrouvant peu dans les archives médicales, les expériences de ces enfants sont longtemps restées inconnues des historien.nes. Toutefois, nous avons été capables de retrouver leurs traces et de donner à voir, à travers des portraits, des vignettes fictives et de l’information contextuelle, leurs expériences personnelles. Cela a notamment été permis par l’intégration de l’art dans cette histoire, formant ainsi une nouvelle approche qui cherche à mieux comprendre les enfants et les soins.

 

Childhood Madness: Compassionate Portraits of Children in Canadian Insane Asylums, 1900-1930
 

Exhibition

By Kira A. Smith

Between 1900 and 1930, kids across Canada entered insane asylums designed for adults. Care was rarely offered. Children were subject to incarceration, eugenics, and institutional abuse. Asylum environments were often scary for children.

The experiences of children are at the heart of this exhibit. Six stories reveal how care was influenced by the socio-political context.

Children’s experiences are often lost to time and absent from medical archives. However, through portraits, fictional vignettes, and contextual information their experiences come to light. The inclusion of art into this history is a new approach that seeks to better understand children and care.

 

La physiologie de l'expérience onirique dans les traditions grecque, arabe et latine

The Colour of Dreams. The Physiology of Oneiric Experience in Greek, Arabic, and Latin Traditions



CSMBR Upcoming Lecture


Marco Signori


23 June 2026 – 5 PM (CET)


This talk explores the concept of dream colour as it appears in a selection of medieval Arabic and Latin philosophical and medical texts. Lying at the intersection of psychophysiology, medicine and the doctrine of the rational soul, this subject draws on ancient humoral theory to explain an intriguing aspect of the dream experience. 

The idea of a correlation between the colour of oneiric images and the predominance of one of the four humours originates from a concise yet highly significant doxographic passage attributed to Galen, as recorded in the only surviving manuscript, Arabic MS Baġdād (Awqāf 9763), and is referenced in notable resources such as Avicenna's (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) writings and the Persian Book of Science for ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla.

Curiously, however, while other Arabic students of this Galenic excerpt on humoral oneirology, such as Abū l-Faraǧ ibn al-Ṭayyib (d. 1043), omitted references to colour when addressing related topics, this connection reemerges in the Latin tradition, as demonstrated by Albert the Great and, most notably, Boethius of Dacia.

Building on previous scholarship and analysing various intermediary channels, the contribution will discuss the possible historical and doctrinal links between these authors, tracing hypothetical lines of transmission from Greek-Arabic medicine to 13th-century Latin philosophy.


To register for this event, please click here. 

Une histoire conceptuelle de la pédopsychiatrie

Folle enfance. Une histoire conceptuelle de la pédopsychiatrie

Yann Craus

Sortie : Printemps 2026
Collection Bibliothèque d'histoire de la médecine et de la santé
Ouvrage soutenu par le Fonds national suisse (FNS)

Les psychoses de l’enfant ont disparu des classifications psychiatriques internationales. Les symptômes qu’elles regroupaient demeurent pourtant un défi pour la communauté médicale alors que les concepts cliniques orientent tant l’édifice nosographique, les propositions thérapeutiques que la recherche dans le champ pédopsychiatrique. Par quelles entités nosologiques ces psychoses ont-elles été remplacées ? Et, d’abord, qu’ont-elles apporté à la pédopsychiatrie quand elles en constituaient l’objet, certes énigmatique mais central ? Folle enfance en propose une histoire conceptuelle qui couvre le long 20e siècle et éclaire les enjeux actuels de la santé mentale des enfants et des adolescents.

L'enfance et l'histoire globale des sciences, des technologies et de la médecine

Global Childhood(s) and Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine

Call for papers

Symposium


Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sebastián Gil-Riaño, Associate Professor, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania

When: 16-18 November 2026

Where: The Centre for History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds (UK)

Co-organisers: Dr. Elisabeth M. Yang, Dr. Franziska Kohlt, and Dr. Elizabeth Hoiem

Modality: in-person with online presentation option

This three-day symposium and workshop at the Centre for History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds will bring together an international, muti-disciplinary group of scholars who work at the interface of the histories of science, medicine, and technology, and childhood studies. We welcome participants from across the humanities whose research concerns child health, medicine, technology and the psy-sciences, as well as applied fields including education, public policy, and information sciences.

Reflective of current trends that signify the entangled histories of scientific cultures, knowledge, and technologies and the child, childhoods, and childism, the event will promote this innovative area of research and practice while supporting dialogue between different theoretical approaches and methodologies. There will be an opportunity to present research projects in the form of lighting talks, presentations, or writing workshops. You may also propose a panel or workshop designed to organize participation on a collaborative project or engagement with public policy, museum, and community outreach. Events will be primarily in-person with online presentation options explored depending on submissions. As a legacy of the event, the organizers will establish a global network of scholars in the history of science/medicine/technology and childhood studies, with the purpose of facilitating future events, collaborations, publications, and public outreach.

Please submit your proposal using our conference management platform by June 22, 2026. You will be asked to provide your contact information, a short biography (150 words), and a 3-page CV with your proposal. You will specify how you want to participate (lightning talk, presentation, workshop, etc.). To suggest a workshop, please explain what kind of writing, whether a book proposal, article, book chapter, dissertation, thesis, or other piece. For a collaborative project or public engagement, please clarify the stage of your project and what you hope to accomplish through the symposium. Proposal lengths (not including citations): 

• Lightning talk: 150-word description
• Presentation (single scholar): 250-word description
• Presentation panel (3-4 presenters): 250-word description each, submitted by the panel chair as a single document
• Workshop article, book chapter, book proposal, or dissertation chapter: 500 words
• Collaborative project or public engagement: 500 words

Please contact the organizers with any queries at the following email address: histchildscience2026@gmail.com.

*A limited number of travel bursaries are available to assist participants with travel costs. Priority will be given to PhD candidates and Early Career Researchers who have no access to funds to cover their travel expenses. If you are interested in applying for a bursary, you will have the opportunity to upload a statement (200 words max) explaining your needs.

Les discours scientifiques et le grand public

Science narratives and the public


Call for papers


A conference taking place on 20 November 2026 at the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AG, London

9.30am – 5.00pm


Deadline for submissions: Friday 26 June 2026



2026 sees the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough FRS, perhaps the greatest exponent of natural history through television. His work is part of a long tradition of communicating often-complex ideas to a wider public. Scientists have used a variety of media to make a case for science: most traditionally in printed works, but also through anecdotes, lectures, demonstrations, exhibitions, press articles, radio and television. Today, our scientists may create websites or take to social media to gain a wider audience for their work, or to explain the work of many others. But who have been the most successful communicators and why? What narrative techniques made them effective? In an era of good and bad influencers, distortion or rejection of science, fake news, and information overload, what can we learn from episodes of science communication past and the messages which cut through?



The Society is interested in how scientific narratives have been crafted and how the best of current knowledge has been conveyed to general audiences. Some storytelling has retained an enormous hold on the popular imagination: from apple trees and gravity, to flying kites and lightning. Why have such tales and images of science in action persisted and how far from reality are they? To what extent have scientists deliberately fashioned such basic narratives, and what makes a good story (or a bad story) in science?

Equally, how have public voices, from everyday people with expertise, such as craftspeople, sailors, miners, pregnant women, and inhabitants of other nations influenced science narratives? And whose voices remained unheard?

 The Royal Society is holding a one-day conference to explore themes of discourse between scientists and the public through a variety of media. The event should produce an interdisciplinary gathering of literary scholars, film and television historians, and historians of science. We welcome proposals for 15- to 20-minute papers on appropriate themes relating to narratives of the 17th – 21st centuries: 

• How far have narrative techniques been shaped by scientists, and how much by others?
• How is narrative structured? What aspects are prioritised? How does the scientific content influence the narrative form, and vice versa?
• What role does imagination and imaginative imagery play in explaining science?
• Is there a link between particular literary genres and scientific narrative? How do scientific stories influence popular literature?
• Which media have had the significant impacts on how science is explained, and why?
• Which scientists have succeeded in becoming storytelling sages, talking heads, or media pundits? Were their reputations for omniscience deserved?
• How much care have scientists exercised in straying from their usual disciplines while explaining science to the public?

Please submit proposals (not exceeding 300 words, including a biographical note of c.50 words) for 15- to 20-minute papers to library@royalsociety.org by Friday 26 June 2026, with the subject line ‘proposal for conference paper’.


Financial support will be available, based on need, to help speakers cover expenses related to attendance, including accommodation, transport and care costs. We welcome papers from all stages of research careers.

La science des propriétés naturelles

The Science of Natural Properties. Knowledge, Transmission, and Practice (6th-15th century)

International Conference

organized by:
Alessandra Scimone
Amine Xhakoni
Lucia Raggetti

Bologna, 17-19 June 2026
Aula Magna - Biblioteca Universitaria, Via Zamboni 33
Sala delle Armi - Palazzo Malvezzi, Via Zamboni 13
 

Keynote speakers:
Jean-Charles Coulon, Isabelle Draelants
(Institute de Recherche et d’Histoire des Texts – CNRS)

For further information or to join us on MS Teams, please email filo.scienceofnaturalproperties@unibo.it

June 17
Morning
| 10:00-11:00 REGISTRATION AND WELCOME
Sala delle Armi, Palazzo Malvezzi

| 11:00-12:30 NATURAL AND OCCULT PROPERTIES OF MINERALS AND METALS
MARIO LENTANO (Università di Siena), ANNA MARIA URSO (Università di Messina)
Pietre pregne e donne gravide. Una storia culturale dell’aetite
STEFANIA FORTUNA (Università Politecnica delle Marche)
I metalli nella terapia dei medici antichi greci e latini
HUSSIEN SOLIMAN ELZOHARY (Bibliotheca Alexandrina)
Defending Natural Properties of Metals: ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī on the Dispute
between the Chemist and the Theorist

Afternoon
| 14:30-15:30 TECHNICAL HANDBOOKS AND MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE
ALESSIA ZUBANI (École du Louvre – Institut Français d’ Études Anatoliennes)
Natural Properties and Mechanical Knowledge in al-Jazarī’s Compendium of the
Theory and Practice of the Mechanical Arts
LEONIE BÖTTIGER (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte)
Valets, Velvet, and Vultures: The Properties of Animal Parts in a Fifteenth-Century
Arabic Housekeeping Manual

| 15:30 – 16:00 Coffee Break

| 16:15-17:15 KEYNOTE SPEECH
Aula Magna, Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna
ISABELLE DRAELANTS (Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes - CNRS)
Proprietas, un concetto medievale cardine tra esegesi, fisica, filosofia e magia

 

June 18
Morning

| 9:30-10:30 KEYNOTE SPEECH
Aula Magna, Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna
JEAN-CHARLES COULON (Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes - CNRS)
From Nature to Letters: Plato and the History of Arabic Occult Sciences

| 10:45 – 11:30 Coffee Break

| 11:30-13:00 STARS, STONES, AND TALISMANS
Sala delle Armi, Palazzo Malvezzi
BENNET ALBERTH (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)
A Lost Greek Work on Occult Properties Hidden in the Arabic Tradition?
NICOLETTA PALMIERI (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne)
Influenze astrali e metereologiche sulla natura umana: la prima res non naturalis
secondo i maestri di medicina nel XII secolo
GIULIA FRENI (Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici)
Tra mineralogia e astrologia: un opuscolo astrologico sulle pietre planetarie nel XV secolo

Afternoon
| 14:30-16:00 MANIPULATION AND INTERPRETATION OF NATURE
ANGELICA GASPARI (Sapienza Università di Roma)
Magnetismo e altri fenomeni fisici nella letteratura pahlavi
EUGENIO VILLA (Università di Udine)
Astanus/Ostanes in the Bologna University Library and beyond
ALMA ELIAZ (Tel Aviv University)
The Properties of Numbers in a Fifteenth-Century Hebrew Geomantic Treatise

| 16:00 – 16:15 Coffee Break

| 16.15-17:15 PROPERTIES AND CRAFTMANSHIP
JAVIER LÓPEZ RIDER (Universidad de Córdoba)
Hojas, raíces y cortezas. El uso de sustancias de origen vegetal en la producción
cosmética de la España bajomedieval
DAVID FERNÁNDEZ SÁNCHEZ (Universidad de Córdoba)
Curtición vegetal y producción de obras de cuero en la Castilla bajomedieval

| 17:15 – 17:30 Coffee Break
 

| 17:30-18:30 PRESENTATION OF THE EDITION OF THE BOOK OF OCCULT
PROPERTIES BY ABŪ AL-ʿALĀ IBN ZUHR

 

June 19
Morning

| 10:00-12:30 NATURAL AND OCCULT PROPERTIES OF PLANTS BETWEEN
LITERATURE AND MEDICINE
Sala delle Armi, Palazzo Malvezzi
ARSENIO FERRACES RODRÍGUEZ (Universidade da Coruña)
El poder hemostático de la morera (arbor mori) en dos pasajes mágico-médicos de
la antigüedad tardía
BEHNAM ATAEI (Freie Universität Berlin)
From the “Expeller of Death” to the “Slayer of the Evil Eye”: The Apotropaic Rebirth
of Haoma/ Hōm in the Iranian World

| 11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
CHLOE NEWMAN (Cambridge University)
Materia Medica as Allegory: Translating the Power of Plants in the Alexander
Romance Tradition
SAMUELE FILIPPI (Università di Palermo)
Che cosa cura davvero? Virtus e farmaco nel Plusquam Commentum di Pietro
Torrigiano

Afternoon
 | 14:00-16:30 NATURAL AND OCCULT PROPERTIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
IN MEDICINE
GIUSEPPE TROVATO (Università di Messina)
Proprietà occulte nei Physica di Teodoro Prisciano
ABEL DE LORENZO RODRÍGUEZ (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela –
University of Edinburgh)
Pearls, Cinnamon, and Deer Heart Bones. The Emerging Salernitan Recipes and
Medical Properties in Twelfth century Iberia

| 15:00 – 15:30 Coffee Break
MARINA DÍAZ MARCOS (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha)
Las propiedades naturales de las plantas en la traducción latina medieval del
galénico De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus VI
LI PARRENT (McGill University)
Agent and Ingredient: Wildness and Domesticity as Mediators of Natural Properties
in Plants and Animals in Courtly Contexts, c.1250-c.1450

| 16:30-17:00 CLOSING REMARKS
For more information or to join us on MS Teams, please email filo.scienceofnaturalproperties@unibo.it

Une histoire globale des antidouleurs

Markets of Pain: Opium, Capitalism, and the Global History of Painkillers

Benjamin Robert Siegel

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0197527825


Markets of Pain offers a sweeping history of the business of licit opium--following cultivators, merchants, scientists, and policymakers--and shows how this potent crop reshaped global trade, medicine, and geopolitics.

For centuries, opium has been a source of both profit and peril, its legacy entangled with addiction, imperialism, and the complex interplay of global trade and national development. While the illicit opium trade is infamous, the history of licit opium--how it was farmed, refined, and used to build modern medicine and shape state power--has remained largely untold.

Drawing on archival sources from Asia, Europe, and the United States, Markets of Pain traces the global arc of licit opium from poppy fields and processing plants in India, Turkey, and Australia to the clinics and laboratories of modern medicine. It shows how both the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic treated the opium poppy as a national resource and a means of securing global stature. In postcolonial India, by contrast, nationalist leaders initially rejected opium's imperial legacy before embracing its strategic value amid the shifting currents of the Cold War. At the heart of this story are the cultivators, scientists, bureaucrats, and policymakers who shaped the licit opium trade and grappled with its far-reaching consequences. Their work and visions demonstrate how colonial empires and postcolonial states helped forge the global pharmaceutical industry as it struggled to govern a drug it could not abandon.

Markets of Pain reveals how a seemingly marginal crop became an unlikely engine of modernization, a tool of Cold War geopolitics, and a harbinger of today's global opioid crisis. Blending vivid scenes from opium's fields and factories with incisive analysis of scientific and diplomatic archives, Benjamin Robert Siegel recovers a buried history with urgent relevance for global supply chains, international power, and public health.

Une histoire globale de la peste noire

The Black Death: A Global History of Humanity's Most Devastating Pandemic

Thomas Asbridge


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 26, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593129166

In the mid-fourteenth century, a lethal plague struck the medieval world, causing unimaginable suffering and destruction. The Black Death was unquestionably one of history’s defining episodes, yet a critical feature of its progress has often been ignored: the disease was not confined to Europe, but rather affected almost all of the known world, including the Near and Middle East, Byzantium, north Africa and Asia.

Tracing the pandemic’s course across the medieval globe, The Black Death contrasts the experiences of different peoples, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews, charting this catastrophe’s transformative effects on diverse aspects of medieval life. And crucially, Asbridge demonstrates that the plague was often at its most destructive in the Islamic world, where it ultimately played a role in the collapse of the mighty Mamluk Empire.

The Black Death also brings the human drama of this calamitous era to life, evoking the terror and the turmoil that beset cities such as London, Cairo, and Florence. Asbridge reconstructs the lives of the men, women and children who faced the Black Death—from ruling monarchs to peasant farmers—laying bare both the abject horror they endured and the courageous resolve they often demonstrated while striving to survive.

Uncovering a story that speaks to our own age, The Black Death highlights humankind’s capacity for compassion and resilience amidst a global crisis to explain how the medieval world confronted, and ultimately overcame, this shattering pandemic.

Les sages-femmes juives et les pratiques de guérison secrètes dans l'Europe moderne

Delivering Knowledge: Jewish Midwives and Hidden Healing in Early Modern Europe

Jordan R. Katz 

Stanford University Press (April/May 2026)
Series: Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture

This book offers a new perspective on the history of early modern Jewish communities by centering the experiences of Jewish midwives. In the wake of the Thirty Years' War, as cities and towns across northern and central Europe placed new emphasis on the regulation of healthcare and childbirth, Jewish midwives stood at the crossroads of tremendous changes in both Jewish communities and the surrounding Christian municipalities. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources, Jordan Katz reveals that Jewish midwives were integral to the expansion of medical bureaucracies, crossing boundaries between genders, between religious communities, and across classes through their work caring for pregnant women and newborn babies.

Grounded in rich historical evidence, the book shows how a focus on Jewish midwives illuminates the complex relationships between Jewish communities and local municipalities, showcasing a level of engagement between Jews and Christian civic authorities that has gone unstudied. Through the lens of midwives, this book opens up new understandings of Jewish communal history, the history of women's healing practices, Jewish-Christian relations, and cultures of record in the early modern period.

Un traité d'anatomie physiologique de la fin du XIIe siècle

L'"Anathomia" de Ricardus Anglicus. Un traité d'anatomie physiologique de la fin du XIIe siècle

 

Philippe Guillet

Honoré Champion
29/05/2026 
EAN13 9782745366290 

 

Les bases médiévales de l’anatomie moderne, définie comme une connaissance approfondie de la structure et de l’organisation du corps humain essentielle à la médecine, émergent en Italie à la fin des XIIIe et XIVe siècles. Les textes médicaux des XIIe et XIIIe siècles s’intéressent précocement à l’anatomie, non pas dans le contexte de la chirurgie, qui n’a pas encore clairement manifesté d’intérêt pour cette discipline, mais plutôt dans une perspective naturaliste plus large, visant à comprendre l’organisation et le fonctionnement des différents membres du corps humain. Un texte notable illustrant cet intérêt est l’Anathomia Ricardi, également connue sous le nom d’Anathomia Ricardi Salernitani. Les historiens allemands de la médecine, qui en ont publié les premiers manuscrits à la fin du XIXe siècle, pensaient qu’il avait été écrit à Salerne.

Il s’agit de la première synthèse intégrant les informations anatomiques et physiologiques détaillées dans le Pantegni de Constantin l’Africain, mais organisée en suivant la classification des membres principaux de Galien dans le Tegni, version médiévale de son Art médical.

Les résultats de notre enquête présentés dans ce livre, révèlent que les copies successives de ce texte, écrit à la fin du XIIe siècle, se divisent en deux traditions distinctes, chacune ayant connu un succès certain. La première tradition, écrite par un médecin du nom de Ricardus anglicus, possiblement à Montpellier, diffuse rapidement dès le début du XIIIe siècle à travers le réseau abbatial, vers le nord et l’est de l’Europe (France, Angleterre, Allemagne, Pologne). La seconde tradition résulte d’une révision significative de ce texte initial, intégrant des éléments issus des œuvres biologiques d’Aristote peu après leur traduction au XIIIe siècle. Elle semble être enseignée à Montpellier, et ses copies gagnent également rapidement les mêmes régions géographiques que la première. Ces traditions furent l’objet d’adaptations en langue vernaculaire au XVe siècle, attestant leur intérêt persistant pendant trois siècles.

Philippe Guillet, médecin et historien des sciences et des techniques est actuellement chercheur associé à l’équipe SAPRAT (Savoirs et pratiques du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne) de l’EPHE.

Le St. Vincent’s Hospital

A Monument of Charity: St. Vincent’s Hospital and Catholic Health Care in New York City 

Thomas F. Rzeznik  



Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 2, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1479839728



Tells the history of St. Vincent's Hospital and the transformative impact of Catholic health care in New York City.

St. Vincent’s Hospital began with a simple, but radical mission: to care for all those in need regardless of race, creed, or financial means. For more than 160 years, the hospital carried out that work, serving notables and the nameless alike, from impoverished immigrants and those stricken by devastating nineteenth-century epidemics to AIDS patients and the victims of the attacks of 9/11.

A Monument of Charity provides the first comprehensive history of this remarkable institution, from its humble beginnings in 1849 to its abrupt closure in 2010. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, St. Vincent’s earned distinction not only for the quality of its medical programs, but also for its unwavering dedication to the poor. The hospital was a testament to the vision and labor of the Sisters of Charity, who founded, staffed, and administered the hospital with remarkable skill and devotion.

Prochaine séance de la SFHM

Prochaine séance de la Société Française d’Histoire de la Médecine 

Vendredi 12 JUIN 2026 à 14 heures
à l’Académie Nationale de Médecine, 16 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris. Salle Simone Veil.



Conférence invitée (60min) :
Jacqueline VONS
Savoir et séduction dans la Fabrique (1543) d’André Vésale
 

Communications (20min) :
Philippe ALBOU
Aperçu de la médecine médiévale à partir de « Renart médecin », épisode du Roman de Renart (XIIe s.) 

Jacques ROBERT
Les premiers temps du Bulletin de l’Association française pour l’étude du cancer

 Benoît VESSELLE
Une blessure par balle reçue à la bataille de Waterloo

Les violences sexuelles en médecine et en psychiatrie

Sexual Violence in Medicine and Psychiatry: Addressing Harms Through Interdisciplinarity 

Rhian Elinor Keyse, Adeline Moussion Esteve, Emma Yapp (Editors)
 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 19, 2026
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 294 pages 
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3032107992

This book explores how medical and psychiatric knowledge, practitioners, and practices respond to sexual violence. It highlights how the medical and psychiatric fields often reproduce political and social dynamics of discrimination, othering, marginalisation, neglect, or surveillance, through their own sets of discourses and practices. Covering a wide range of geographical case studies including the UK, Australia, Kenya, and Argentina, this book is the first cohesive edited collection to unite interdisciplinary scholarship on this topic.

La pratique et l'apprentissage de la chirurgue à l'époque moderne

Learning to Cut. Surgical training and practice, 1450–1800

Maria Pia Donato, Elaine Leong, Tillmann Taape (Editors)


UCL Press
June 2026
Series: Opening up the History of Science



Across early modern Europe, surgeons played a key role in the provision of everyday healthcare. They dressed wounds, lanced boils, set bones, treated tumours, as well as performing specialist operations such as couching cataracts or cutting for the stone. They carried out anatomies and autopsies, prepared corpses for embalming, and, if they were entitled to do so, occasionally performed major operations such as removing cancers, amputating limbs, and trepanning skulls. Yet, while recent studies have done much to elucidate the work of surgeons, little has been published about how they were trained.

Learning to Cut fills this significant gap. A range of case studies from the French, Italian, German, and English contexts reveal diverse modes of surgical teaching and learning in early modern towns and cities, and how they were shaped by existing social, economic, and occupational structures. Equally varied were the spaces and institutions where prospective practitioners learned and experienced surgery. Thus, the shop, the patient’s house, the hospital, the guild hall, and the anatomy theatre were all sites for learning, teaching – and cutting. The chapters present rich narratives of education and, together, shed new light on the practice of early modern surgery.

Postdoctorat en histoire de la santé maternelle mondiale

Post-doctoral position in the history of global maternal health (F/M/D)

Call for applications

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is recruiting a




CENTRE: Gender Center

CONTRACT: maximum duration contract (4 years)

ACTIVITY RATE: 100% 40 h / w

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 10th June, 2026

STARTING DATE: 01st September, 2026



Presentation of the Institute:

The Geneva Graduate Institute, founded in 1927, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for the study of international relations and development. Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the Institute offers a stimulating, multicultural and interdisciplinary academic environment. It offers masters and doctoral programmes, and conducts cutting-edge research on major global challenges.



Introduction of the project: 

Applications are invited for a post-doctoral position with the project “Global Maternity: The Politics of Knowledge Production at the World Health Organization, 1948-2008,” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and hosted at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. The Post-Doc (PD) will work with the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Nicole Bourbonnais and Project Partner (PP) Dr. Ogechukwu Williams to explore how knowledge and expertise flowed into and out of the WHO, the tensions contained in the global governance of maternity, and the role of mothers themselves in responding to/intervening in these processes.


The project includes three pillars: Pillar 1: an overarching history of the WHO’s work on maternity during its first 60 years (conducted by the PI)
Pillar 2: 4 micro-historical case studies focusing on the fields of death (the production of maternal mortality statistics), birth (the evolution of pregnancy and childbirth guidance), breast (the regulation of infant feeding) and mind (the visibility/invisibility of maternal mental health) (PI, PP, and PD)
Pillar 3: public and policy-facing work aimed at inserting the project findings into contemporary discussions of motherhood, global health, and international organizations more broadly (PI, PP and PD).



Key responsibilities: 

(1) Conducting and publishing original research on 2 of the 4 micro-historical case studies, on the subjects of birth (pregnancy and childbirth) and mind (maternal mental health). The idea is to narrow in on a specific pamphlet, guide, meeting, moment, person, or other micro-historical subject to explore in depth through the HQ archives in Geneva and archival, oral history, and/or ethnographic research in a particular location (ex a maternity ward in X country where the guide was/is used, the location of a key meeting…etc). The specific micro-historical subjects and sites of research are flexible, but should be based geographically in either Asia, Africa, or Central/South America and will ideally compliment rather than replicate the regional expertise of the PI (the Anglophone Caribbean) and PP (Nigeria). Academic outputs for the PD will include 3 solo-authored journal articles (one on each of the 2 case studies and one reflecting on the use of micro-history from a methodological perspective), as well as a co-authored introduction to an edited volume.

(2) Taking the lead on Pillar 3 (policy and public-facing work of the project). This will include organization of three events: a project launch event in Year 1, a 2-day research-policy workshop in Year 3, and a final public event in Year 4 presenting the project results. The PD will also take the lead in putting together a 4-part podcast series covering the four case studies (death, birth, breast and mind, 1 hour each), released in Year 4. 


To be successful in this role, you should have:

A doctoral degree in history or a related field of relevance to the position, in hand by the agreed start date of the position (ideally Sept 1, 2026 at the latest)

Experience conducting archival and/or oral history research

Excellent knowledge of English and any other languages needed for the proposed sites of archival/field research

Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team
Assets :

• Past research on the history of global health, the history of reproduction/motherhood, the history of international organizations, and/or micro-history
• Theoretical knowledge of reproduction, motherhood, governance, and health from an interdisciplinary perspective
• Previous experience organizing events and working with policymakers/the public
• Previous experience in podcasting or other creative mediums

What you can expect from us:

• Working with a large international community from diverse backgrounds.
• Interesting job with varied tasks.
• Good atmosphere in a small team. At the heart of International Geneva.

How to apply

We invite you to submit a complete file in PDF format with the following documents: 

• A letter of motivation (max 2 pages) outlining how the applicant’s past experience will allow them to contribute to the project and indicating their possible start date if selected
• An academic CV detailing education, dissertation subject/fields, past research and other relevant experience, publications, conference papers, and contact information for three references
• A research proposal (max 2 pages), outlining some initial ideas as to how the applicant might approach the case studies and what regions, sites, or micro-historical subjects might be the focus
• Two writing samples (e.g. academic publications, PhD chapters, and/or public-facing scholarship)
• *Please note that AI should not be used to generate text for the application materials. *

Complete applications must be submitted through the website by June 10, 2026.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, marital status, disability status, race, national origin, color, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
For more information, candidates are encouraged to consult the Institute's website : graduateinstitute.ch
Please note that offers received by post or direct email won't be considered.
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Doctorat sur l'histoire des maladies infectieuses dans les empires coloniaux

Contrat doctoral (3 ans, 100%) à Aix-en-Provence - "Histoire de la santé, maladies infectieuses et épidémiologie dans les empires coloniaux (19e-20e siècle)"



Appel à candidatures

Le contrat doctoral s’inscrit dans le cadre de la Chaire de Professeur Junior (CPJ) CNRS MOBIMATHS, organisée autour du projet de recherche « Circulations humaines, mobilités maritimes et modélisation des risques infectieux (17e-21e siècle) », financé par l’ANR et la fondation Amidex d’Aix-Marseille Université. L’objectif de ce projet est d’étudier la globalisation des risques infectieux en lien avec les circulations humaines, les mobilités maritimes et la colonisation. Il s’inscrit dans une approche socio-historique de la santé, de la médecine, des sciences et des techniques. Il vise également à promouvoir un dialogue interdisciplinaire entre l’histoire, les mathématiques, l’infectiologie et la santé publique. Pour ce faire, il porte un intérêt particulier à l’histoire des approches mathématiques en épidémiologie, aux données quantitatives et à la statistique en santé, conçues à la fois comme sources historiques et comme objets d’étude. 

Le sujet de thèse du doctorant ou de la doctorante portera sur l’histoire de la santé, des maladies infectieuses et de l’épidémiologie dans les empires coloniaux (19e-20e siècle). Il ou elle étudiera une question en lien avec la santé en contexte colonial et/ou naval, avec un intérêt pour la mobilisation ou l’étude de sources quantitatives. Le sujet est laissé volontairement large pour permettre au doctorant ou à la doctorante de développer son propre projet de recherche, en accord avec sa direction de thèse, que ce soit en termes de choix méthodologiques, de cadre géographique, et/ou d’approches des questions de santé et d’épidémiologie. Il ou elle aura ainsi la volonté de s’approprier son propre espace de recherche, tout en s’inscrivant dans une dynamique collective. En fonction de la définition du sujet, la chronologie pourra débuter à une période antérieure aux 2nd empires coloniaux, ou se terminer après les décolonisations (contextes post-coloniaux, guerre froide, enjeux de santé globale). La recherche pourra porter, par exemple, sur un espace impérial défini, un contexte transimpérial, un cas d’étude précis (ville, port, ligne maritime, etc.) ou sur un phénomène impliquant les mobilités humaines (en particulier par voie maritime).

La thèse sera réalisée au sein du laboratoire MESOPOLHIS (UMR 7064) et de l’école doctorale Espaces Cultures Sociétés (ED 355) sous la co-direction de Guillaume Linte (CNRS) et de Nicolas Badalassi (Sciences Po Aix). 

Date limite : 19 juin 2026


Informations et candidature : https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR7064-GUILIN-001/Default.aspx


Contact pour information : guillaume.linte@cnrs.fr

La santé et l'environnement dans le monde préindustriel

Health and the Environment in the Preindustrial World: Multidisciplinary Approaches


Conference 



Monash University

Caufiled Campus 

Victoria, Australia

23-24 July

This international and interdisciplinary conference brings to a close the activities of the grant team “Pursuing Public Health in the Preindustrial World, 1100-1800.” Beyond the team itself, it involves a dozen scholars working across health history, history of science and technology, religion, archaeology and landscape in areas covering Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and East and Southeast Asia.

The conference will be both remote and in-person. Attendance is free but requires registration. Please register at the following link: click here.

For the full program: click here.

About the Conference

Health was a goal pursued by numerous societies prior to industrialised modernity. While their definitions of health and disease could differ widely, earlier cultures organised themselves around promoting the former and fighting the latter with their available means. They did so, moreover, in diverse, changing and challenging locations around the world and in response to the specific risks these were thought to pose. This conference aims, not only to showcase the team’s research on public health history, but also to situate it within and assess its potential impact on several fields, including environmental history, the history of science and technology, bioarchaeology, landscape archaeology, mobility studies, religious studies and gender studies.

Over the past four years, the team has worked across the regions of Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, reconstructing practices meant to fight disease and promote health at the community level. Specifically, team members examined (mobile) courts, pilgrims and miners, and how they intervened in their changing environments to improve health outcomes. The choice of regions and societies allowed us, first, to venture beyond the European, urban and sedentary focus of most revisionary work on premodern public health history in the recent past; and, secondly, to critically integrate methodologies from archaeology, religious studies and other fields. Collectively these have enriched the available toolkit for detecting healthscaping activities in the deeper past.

The concluding conference will bring together the original team as well as a keynote speaker and invited scholars across several fields, periods and career stages. Presentations will explore both traditional and more recent themes converging on public health history, including biopower, the public sphere and transitions into modernity; the mingling of spiritual and physical health; the gendering of community healthcare; and the spatial and material dimensions of health.

La médecine yiddish en période d'épidémie

Yiddish Medicine in Times of Epidemics. Faith, Secrets, and Cures in Early Modern Europe


CSMBR Upcoming Lecture


Daniella Zaidman-Mauer 


11 June 2026 – 5 PM (CET)


Before the advent of modern medicine, healing was never purely physical. Across different religions, illness was understood to be both a physical and a moral event — a disruption to the balance between humanity and God. When epidemics struck early modern Europe, people turned to every available remedy — whether practical, spiritual, natural or supernatural.

This lecture explores how Jewish communities in Central and Western Europe responded to epidemic disease by examining vivid examples drawn from Yiddish books and pamphlets, which was the everyday language of European Jews. 

We will encounter a Yiddish plague treatise that offered rules for surviving an outbreak by blending hygiene, community solidarity and spiritual discipline into a single, coherent guide, together with other instances of Jewish healers and rabbis navigating this world with remarkable creativity, integrating herbal remedies, dietary advice, quarantine regulations and prayer into a unified, practical system of care. 

Together, these stories reveal a world in which prayer and medicine, faith and science were partners in the urgent, deeply human work of survival.



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