The Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, will host its ninth annual History of Women?s Health Conference on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.
We invite interested persons to send a one to two page proposal or abstract of your topic by Friday, December 6, 2012 for consideration. The History of Women?s Health Conference focuses on areas of women?s health from the 18th century to the present. This conference encourages interdisciplinary work. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, obstetrics and gynecology (fertility, infertility, birth control methods, menopause), adolescence (health, cultural influences, body image, puberty, eating disorders), mental health topics, aging concerns, women?s health as consumer health, the female as conveyed in popular culture, overall women?s health, access to health care, minority health, nursing, midwifery, female healers, and more.
Robert Aronowitz, MD, chair of the Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania, will be our keynote speaker, presenting a history of breast cancer from his book Unnatural History: Breast Cancer and American Society (Cambridge University Press, 2007). He is also the author of the book Making Sense of Illness: Science, Society, and Disease and numerous articles.
The History of Women?s Health Conference began in 2006 as part of the Pennsylvania Hospital?s celebration of co-founder Benjamin Franklin?s tercentenary. Each year since, scholars from the humanities and health care professionals gather to discuss the past, present, and future state of women?s health. The conference is jointly sponsored by the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department and the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collection.
Please e-mail your one to two page proposal to:
Stacey C Peeples, Curator-Lead Archivist, Pennsylvania Hospital
Please call (215-829-5434) or e-mail with any questions or for more information.