Medical Humanities & History Blogs

Medical Humanities & Medical History Blogs

• America
  • History of Medicine in America – Content written by students enrolled in a course in the history of American medicine at Grinnell College.
  • Medicine, Health, and History – Blog of Paul Stepansky, a Yale-trained historian of ideas specializing in the history of American medicine and psychiatry.
• Anatomy
  • Morbid Anatomy – Death, cultism, medicine, shamanism, models.
• Art, Literature, Film, and Graphic Medicine
  • Books, Health, and History: The New York Academy of Medicine – The blog for the NYAM Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health includes articles on the history of medicine and public health and updates on activities at the Center.
  • Canadian Medical Association Journal Blog – Hosts the Medical Student Humanities Blog, as well as blogs by CMAJ editors and guest bloggers.
  • Cancer Owl – Graphic Medicine blog about being diagnosed with cancer.
  • Graphic Medicine – Academics, healthcare professionals, authors, and artists who explore the discourse of healthcare through comics.
  • Literature, Arts, and Medicine Blog: NYU School of Medicine – A forum for the scholarly discussion of projects in the medical humanities.
  • Medflix – Blog on films with medical themes.
  • MedHum Fiction | Daily Dose – A combined blog that promotes the medical humanities and intersections between self and story.
  • Morbid Anatomy – Death, cultism, medicine, shamanism, models.
  • Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities – Blog for a project which investigates the significance of science fiction for the medical humanities.  The blog includes essays on science fiction and the medical humanities and advertisements for the project’s activities.
  • Street Anatomy – Showcases how anatomy is visualized in art, design, and pop culture through visual blogs, and galleries.
• Blogs Associated with Libraries, Archives, and Institutions
  • BMJ Blogs: Medical Humanities – Posts on a wide range of topics in the field of medical humanities.
  • Books, Health, and History: The New York Academy of Medicine – The blog for the NYAM Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health includes articles on the history of medicine and public health and updates on activities at the Center.
  • Canadian Medical Association Journal Blog – Hosts the Medical Student Humanities Blog, as well as blogs by CMAJ editors and guest bloggers.
  • Canadian Society for the History of Medicine – Calls for papers, new publications, research resources, job postings, funding opportunities, and notices of events in the history of medicine.
  • Centre for Humanities and Health, King’s College London – Blog advertising the activities of the Centre for Humanities and Health which aims to illuminate the subjective and experiential aspects of illness and health through literature, philosophy, history and film studies.
  • Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham University – Publishes essays and ‘ideas’ pieces from scholars, clinicians, and artists; information on upcoming events, publications and research opportunities; and reviews of books, conferences, and exhibitions.
  • CHoM News – Updates from the Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library.
  • Circulating Now – This blog by the National Library of Medicine uses highlights from its historical collections as a way to provide thoughtful discussions on a wide array of history of medicine topics.
  • De re medica – Updates on activities and events in the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University and in the world of medical humanities broadly.
  • Department of Social Science Health and Medicine at King’s College London – Blog advertising the activities of the Department of Social Science Health and Medicine which addresses the changing landscape of health and medicine from a social science perspective.
  • Digital Developments: The Wellcome Library – Announcing new developments on the Wellcome website, including new web tools and digitization projects.
  • Early Medicine: The Wellcome Library – Expert articles on disease, disability, wellbeing and other subjects, and the holdings of the Wellcome Library relating to medicine and health in Europe before 1700.
  • Europeana Blog – A blog highlighting the digital collections at European libraries, archives, galleries, and museums.
  • Events and Visits: The Wellcome Library – Announcing upcoming talks, seminars, workshops, and other events at the Wellcome Library.
  • From the Collections: The Wellcome Library – Blog highlighting unique items and hidden gems in the Wellcome Collections.
  • Historical Reflections: The Medical Heritage Center Blog – Blog for the Medical Heritage Center at the Ohio State University Health Sciences Library.
  • History of Medicine in Ireland Blog – A blog run by members of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University College Dublin, highlighting research and events in the history of medicine and medical humanities in Ireland.
  • In the Library: The Wellcome Library – Announcing new projects and developments at the Wellcome Library.
  • Kew Royal Botanic Gardens Library, Art, and Archives Blog – Highlighting the collections at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens and updating readers on the projects of the library, art, and archive staff.
  • Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability – Blog includes advertisements for activities at the museum as well as posts on the history of learning disability, the work of Dr. John Langdon Down, the Normansfield Hospital, and reflections of former hospital employees.
  • Literature, Arts, and Medicine Blog: NYU School of Medicine – A forum for the scholarly discussion of projects in the medical humanities.
  • Medical Humanities Research Centre at University of Glasgow – Advertises and discusses the activities of the Medical Humanities Research Centre and medical humanities research and events taking place across Glasgow.
  • Medical Museion: The Culture of Medicine—yesterday, today, tomorrow – Blog for Medical Museion, a combined museum and research unit at the University of Copenhagen.
  • Medieval Manuscripts Blog: British Library – Blog publicizing digitization projects and other activities related to the Medieval Manuscripts Collection at the British Library.
  • Museum of Health Care – Blog for the Museum of Health Care at Kingston, Ontario.  Posts are written by museum staff and volunteers.
  • Othmeralia – Blog highlighting the collections of the Othmer Library of Chemical History at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Science Blog: British Library – A blog highlighting the activities of the British Library Science Team.
  • The Researcher’s View: The Wellcome Library – Academics, students, artists, and others write about their discoveries and experiences as they explore the Wellcome Collections.
  • Wellcome Trust Blog – Blog sharing stories of the research, people, and projects funded by the Wellcome Trust.
• Bones
  • About Bone – Exploring bone, as it supports life and captures history.
• Botany
  • Kew Royal Botanic Gardens Library, Art, and Archives Blog – Highlighting the collections at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens and updating readers on the projects of the library, art, and archive staff.
• Britain and Ireland
  • Digesting the Medical Past – Blog dedicated to research of Ian Miller, Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University of Ulster focusing on the history of eating, the stomach, Irish diet, and prison force-feeding.
  • History of Medicine in Ireland Blog – A blog run by members of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University College Dublin, highlighting research and events in the history of medicine and medical humanities in Ireland.
  • Panacea: Musings on the History of Medicine – Blog on the medical and social history of England by historian Samantha Sandassie.
  • The Cat’s Meat Shop – Blog on the social history of Victorian London.
• Canada
  • Museum of Health Care – Blog for the Museum of Health Care at Kingston, Ontario.  Posts are written by museum staff and volunteers.
• Disability
  • Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability – Blog includes advertisements for activities at the museum as well as posts on the history of learning disability, the work of Dr. John Langdon Down, the Normansfield Hospital, and reflections of former hospital employees.
• Early Modern Medicine
  • Dr. Alun Withey – Personal blog of historian of early modern medicine at the University of Exeter, Dr. Alun Withey.
  • Early Modern Medicine – A blog about bodies, medicine, and gender in the early modern period.
  • The Renaissance Mathematicus – A blog on the history of science in the early-modern period.
  • Early Medicine: The Wellcome Library – Expert articles on disease, disability, wellbeing and other subjects, and the holdings of the Wellcome Library relating to medicine and health in Europe before 1700.
• Eugenics
  • Genotopia – Blog dedicated to eugenics and human perfection.
• Food/Nutrition
  • Digesting the Medical Past – Blog dedicated to research of Ian Miller, Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University of Ulster focusing on the history of eating, the stomach, Irish diet, and prison force-feeding.
  • The Old Foodie – Posts on food history.
  • The Recipes Project – An international group of scholars interested in the history of recipes, ranging from magical charms to veterinary remedies.
• Gender
  • Early Modern Medicine – A blog about bodies, medicine, and gender in the early modern period.
  • Nursing Clio – An open access, peer-reviewed blog aimed at historians, health care workers, activists, students, and the general public that uses historical scholarship to examine contemporary issues on gender and medicine.
• General History of Medicine
  • Historiens de la santé – Book reviews, calls for papers, and notices for conferences, lectures, scholarships, and job applications.
  • Remedia: The History of Medicine in Dialogue with its Present – Updated weekly, this collaborative blog publishes scholarly, yet accessible, articles that connect history of medicine topics with present-day concerns.
  • Somatosphere – A collaborative website covering the intersections of medical anthropology, science and technology studies, cultural psychiatry, psychology and bioethics.
  • The Health Culture – Personal blog of historian Jan Henderson.  Henderson is interested in how the practice of medicine has changed since the mid-20^th century.  Posts focus on questions related to medicalization, healthism, psychopharmaceuticals, cosmetic surgery, inequality, neoliberalism, the sociology of health, and bioethics.
  • Wonders & Marvels: A Community for Curious Minds Who Love History, its Odd Stories, and Good Reads – A blog for specialists and non-specialists to post on topics of interest from the past with an emphasis on the history of medicine.
• Important Figures in the History of Medicine
  • The Sloane Letters Blog – A blog highlighting the stories of patients, natural philosophers, and collectors found in the correspondence of Sir Hans Sloane, an eighteenth-century physician, botanist, and collector.
• Medieval Manuscripts
  • Digitized Medieval Manuscripts – A blog highlighting digitized medieval manuscript collections informing readers about the latest collections to be digitized.
  • Medieval Manuscripts Blog: British Library – Blog publicizing digitization projects and other activities related to the Medieval Manuscripts Collection at the British Library.
• Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience
  • Brain Blogger: History of Medicine – Blog dedicated to health, science, and the brain.
  • History of Emotions – Contributions by scholars, writers, and artists from around the world on all aspects of the historical and contemporary significance of feeling, passion, sentiment and emotion.
  • Hubbub – Hubbub is an international collective of social scientists, artists, humanities researchers, scientists, broadcasters, public engagement professionals and mental health experts.
  • H-Madness – History of madness, mental illness, and their treatment (history of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and clinical psychology and social work). Forum for researchers in the humanities and social sciences.
  • Medicine, Health, and History – Blog of Paul Stepansky, a Yale-trained historian of ideas specializing in the history of American medicine and psychiatry.
• Science and Technology
  • H-Sci-Med-Tech – H-Net Network’s science, medicine, and technology blog is an ideal resource for graduate students, faculty, and scholars wanting to stay current with news and announcements in the field. Typical posts include calls for papers, links to relevant articles, funding opportunities, and book reviews.
  • Whewell’s Ghost – History and philosophy of general science.
  • Science Blog: British Library – A blog highlighting the activities of the British Library Science Team.
• Sexology
  • Discourses of Suffering – Blog on the history of pain, pleasure, and sex.
  • Notches: (re)marks on the history of sexuality – A peer-reviewed, collaborative, and international history of sexuality blog.
• Surgery/Anesthesia
  • Anaesthesia Heritage Centre – Blog on the history of anesthesia.
  • The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice – A blog about pre-anesthetic surgery.
• Teaching in the History of Medicine
  • Recommended Dose: A Blog About Teaching the History of Medicine – A forum for historians of medicine to share and discuss assignments and strategies for teaching the history of medicine.
• Vaccines
  • The History of Vaccines Blog – An educational resource created by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.