Society for the Social History of Medicine Conference (2012). Emotions, Health, and Wellbeing
Monday 10th September, 2012
9am, Arts 2
The Society for the Social History of Medicine hosts a major, biennial, international, interdisciplinary conference. In September 2012, it was held in conjunction with the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, on the theme ‘Emotions, Health and Wellbeing’.
Below is some archived information from the event, but you may also like to read the conference reports by Jane Mackelworth and Hazel Croft, and some concluding thoughts from William Reddy, all at the History of Emotions Blog.
Programme
Our plenary speakers are Professor Mark Jackson (Exeter), Professor Joanna Bourke (Birkbeck) and Professor William Reddy (Duke).
The conference programme is available here: 2012 SSHM Programme
Getting here
The conference will take place in the Arts Two building on QMUL’s Mile End campus, number 35 on this map.
Directions and a campus map for the Queen Mary Mile End Campus are available on the College website. The nearest tube stations are Mile End and Stepney Green. On exiting Mile End station, turn left and head straight down the main road, passing underneath the bridge. Shortly after the bridge, you will see the gates to the Queen Mary campus on your right. From Stepney Green station, head left upon exiting and a five minute walk will bring you to the campus on your left.
Accommodation
The university has a limited number of rooms available on campus, which can be booked along with your conference registration.
Alternatively, the university has a list of nearby hotels online. You may also wish to stay in central London; tube stations with a short journey to Mile End include Holborn and Liverpool Street.
If you have booked your accommodation at QMUL, this is just a short walk from the Arts Two building where the majority of the conference will take place: Sir Christopher France House, number 55 on this map. The Residences Reception is located directly next door (number 54 on the map) and is open 24 hours a day. Please report to Residences Reception to collect your key. Guests can check in at any time from 2.00pm onwards; for guests arriving early there is a left luggage facility at a rate of £2.00 per item. Early arrivals may be able to access their rooms to freshen up and store luggage before 2.00pm depending on room availability/departures on the day. Check-out time is 10.00am. Internet access via wire and wi-fi connection is available in Sir Christopher France House for a one-off cost of £6.00; log-ins can be bought at Reception. Residences Reception can be contacted on 020 7882 2610.
Museum visits
We thought that delegates to the conference might wish to take advantage of the conference location to explore museums and galleries of a medical-historical kind, based particularly within the East End and in easy access from the conference site. Please see the full list below. These visits are open not only to conference delegates but also to accompanying family members.
In some cases, there is a charge for admission, which is indicated below. The booking deadline for all visits is 8 September. Some visits may not run without a complement of visitors. We have scheduled many of the visits on the Wednesday afternoon, 12 September, but mindful of the likely wish of many delegates to be at the conference venue at that time, we have supplied alternative times wherever possible.
Maps for all the museums listed here will be available from the reception desk at the conference.
We hope that you enjoy the opportunity to visit these historic sites.
Liz Gray
Colin Jones
Emma Sutton
for the Conference Organising Committee
You may also wish to visit London Museums of Health & Medicine, a guide to London’s medical museums.
MONDAY
Ragged School Museum
46-50 Copperfield Road, London, E3 4RR
www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk
Housed in what was once London’s largest Ragged School, this popular museum welcomes people of all ages to taste a slice of Victorian life. Located beside the Regent’s Canal, the museum offers an authentic and memorable experience of the East End a century ago.
Directions: Located just a five minute walk from Queen Mary.
SSHM delegate information: Delegates have the chance to visit the museum, at no cost, from 2.30pm onwards. There is no need to book in advance, but a volunteer will be available to escort you to the museum: please meet them in the Arts Two foyer at 2.15pm.
Museum of the Order of St. John
St John’s Gate, St John’s Lane, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 4DA
www.museumofstjohn.org.uk
The Museum of the Order of St. John tells a unique and fascinating story – from the Order’s origin in eleventh-century Jerusalem, through to its role today with St. John Ambulance and the St. John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. The 2012 Summer Exhibition, entitled 125 Voices, celebrates the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the St. John Ambulance Brigade.
Directions: Take the Hammersmith and City line tube from Mile End station to Farringdon. The museum is a short walk from the station.
SSHM delegate information: A tour of the museum has been arranged for 3.00pm on Monday, costing £5 or £4 for concessions. Please book in advance via the eshop. A conference volunteer will be available to accompany you to the Museum if you are unfamiliar with the area: please meet them in the Arts Two foyer at 2.30pm.
St. Bartholomew-the-Great
West Smithfield, City of London
www.greatstbarts.com
St Bartholomew-the-Great is one of London’s oldest churches. Built when Henry I was King of England, it has survived the Great Fire of London and both the World Wars. Well known for its beautiful architecture, it has also featured in many feature films and television programmes.
Directions: Take the Hammersmith and City line tube from Mile End station to Farringdon. The church is a short walk from the station.
SSHM delegate information: The church is closed for filming on 11th and 12th September, but is open to visitors on Monday 11th. There is an admission charge of £4 or £3.50 concessions.
TUESDAY
Bishopsgate Institute
230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QH
www.bishopsgate.org.uk
The Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural centre comprising a library, historic collections and educational facilities. Through courses and cultural events, the Institute aims to enrich, entertain and stimulate independent thought in a vibrant city environment. The library contains important collections relating to the history of London and the labour, co-operative, free thought and humanist movements.
Directions: Take the Central Line tube from Mile End to Liverpool Street (two stops). The Institute is a two-minute walk away (bear left when exiting the station).
SSHM delegate information: Delegates are offered the opportunity to attend a lunchtime concert on Tuesday, 1.05pm-1.50pm. The Worshipful Company of Musicians are performing their annual celebration of JS Bach cantatas, which this year features ‘The Coffee Cantata’ (Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht). This humorous satire on coffee addiction (akin to a tiny comic opera) is contrasted with the more traditional sacred piece Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (‘Praise God in all the Lands’).
Centre of the Cell
Blizard Building, 4 Newark Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 2AT
www.centreofthecell.org
The first science education centre in the world located within medical research laboratories. An educational charity dedicated to inspiring curiosity and learning, by connecting science to everyday life.
Directions: Take either the District or Hammersmith and City tube lines from Mile End to Whitechapel, or use one of the buses that stop outside QMUL. The Centre is just a short walk from the station.
SSHM delegate information: A free visit to the centre has been organised for delegates at 3.00pm on Tuesday. Please book in advance via the eshop. A conference volunteer will be available to escort you to the Centre: please meet them in the Arts Two foyer at 2.45pm.
Hunterian Museum (Royal College of Surgeons)
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PE
www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums
The Hunterian collection has been brought together over four centuries by a cast of colourful characters, including surgeon and anatomist John Hunter. They are a fascinating mix of human and animal anatomy and pathology specimens, surgical and dental instruments, as well as paintings, drawings, and sculpture. The current temporary exhibition is entitled: ‘Anatomy of an Athlete: Elite Sport, Surgery and Medical Art’.
Directions: Take the Central Line tube from Mile End to Holborn. The museum is a five minute walk from the station.
SSHM delegate information: The museum is free of charge to visit. A group visit will take place at 3.30pm on Tuesday. Please book in advance via the eshop. A conference volunteer will be available to accompany you to the museum if you are unfamiliar with the local area: please meet them in the Arts Two foyer at 3.00pm.
WEDNESDAY
Royal College of Physicians
11 St. Andrews Place, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4LE
www.rcplondon.ac.uk/museum-and-garden
Founded in 1518, the Royal College of Physicians has a large collection relating to both the history of the college and the physician’s profession. Highlights include a large portrait collection and a medical instrument collection. Their current temporary exhibition is entitled: ‘Curious anatomys’: an extraordinary story of dissection and discovery.
Directions: Take the Hammersmith and City Line tube from Mile End to Great Portland Street, followed by a five minute walk.
SSHM delegate information: A one-hour private tour including the history, collections and architecture of the RCP has been arranged for 2.30pm, after which you will be free to explore the ‘Curious anatomys’ exhibition. The cost is £5. Please book in advance via the eshop. A conference volunteer will be available to accompany you to the museum if you are unfamiliar with the local area: please meet them in the Arts Two foyer at 2.00pm.
Wellcome Collection
183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE
www.wellcomecollection.org
Described as ‘A Free Destination for the Incurably Curious’, the Wellcome Collection is a unique mix of galleries, meeting and reading places. It brings to life Sir Henry Wellcome’s vision of a place where people could learn more about the development of medicine through the ages and across cultures. As well as their permanent ‘Medicine Man’ and ‘Medicine Now’ galleries, you can explore their current temporary exhibition ‘SuperHuman’.
Directions: Take the Hammersmith and City line train from Mile End to Euston Square, just one minute’s walk from the Wellcome Collection.
SSHM delegate information: The Wellcome Collection galleries are open on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the conference. Delegates are invited to explore the collections at their leisure.
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
www.whitechapelgallery.org
For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world-class art from modern masters to contemporary artists. With beautiful galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays, dining room and bookshop, the Gallery is a touchstone for contemporary art internationally. It plays a central role in London’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.
Directions: Take either the District or Hammersmith and City lines to Whitechapel, or use one of the buses that stop outside QMUL. The Gallery is on the main road, close to the station.
SSHM delegate information: The Gallery is very close to Queen Mary, and we would encourage you to pay a visit to this beautiful gallery if you have time.
St. Bartholomew’s the Less and the West Smithfield Museum
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE
www.stbartstheless.org.uk &
www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk/about-us/museums-and-archives/st-bartholomew-s-museum
St. Bartholomew’s the Less is a small church located within the grounds of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The museum is set within the historic north wing of the Hospital, telling the story of the institution and its place in history. Exhibits date back to the 12th century and the re-founding of hospital, as well as the work of William Harvey and John Abernethy.
Directions: Take the Hammersmith and City line tube from Mile End to Farringdon. The hospital is a short walk from the station.
SSHM delegate information: It is free of charge to visit both the church and the West Smithfield Museum, which are open on Tuesday and Wednesday. Delegates are encouraged to visit these attractions at their own leisure.