British Society for the History of Medicine
Report of Dundee Congress 2007
Part of the BSHM Web newsletter 2007
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British Society for the History of Medicine
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West Park Centre, Perth Road, Dundee: September 5th-8th, 2007
For details of speakers and their subjects see Programme
BSHM Congress reportThe 22nd Congress of the British Society of History of Medicine was held, with great success, at the West Park Centre of the University of Dundee on 5-8 September 2007. In beautiful sunshine, 84 participants enjoyed a series of interesting papers, and conversations both inside the conference rooms and outside on the terrace in the attractive grounds. Dr David Wright, Dr John Blair, Dr Graham Lowe, Dr Iain Levack, Dr Tony Wildsmith and Dr Bryan Ashworth of the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine are to be congratulated particularly and can feel very pleased at the smooth running and outcome of the congress. The Congress was opened by Dr John Blair. Sir Alan Langlands, Principal and Vice-chancellor of the University of Dundee, extended a warm welcome. Dr John Ward gave the Presidential Address. The first session of the meeting was run in conjunction with the Medical School of the University of Dundee to mark the 40th anniversary of the university's existence as an independent institution. This was recent history as aspects of the changes in medical education , pioneered by the Dundee school, were presented with great clarity and enthusiasm. Four papers provided a fascinating account of the new approaches to teaching, clinical examination and learning which have been taken up widely by other medical schools. Papers on assessment and the International Virtual Medical School completed the session. The afternoon session commenced with Professor John Pearn giving a keynote lecture on a perspective of the classification and naming of living things. This brought to the forefront the role of Carl Linnaeus, the tercentenary of whose birth is being celebrated this year. Sixteen free papers followed in two parallel programmes. One programme was entitled Travelling and Travellers, the other, entitled Miscellany, included papers on English, Ancient Indian and Arabic medical history. The Chairmen and speakers all obeyed the timing instructions so that it was possible to move between sessions. In the early evening we attended a Civic Reception at the City Chambers where the Lord Provost, John Letford, welcomed us. Dinner at West Park Centre followed and the evening concluded with Scottish airs played beguiling by two young fiddlers, medical students at Edinburgh and Dundee. The morning session on the second day of the congress was devoted to military medicine. Six papers were presented on typhus, stress, blood transfusion, conscript doctors, casualty air evacuation at Suez, 1956 and abdominal trauma in Arab medical history respectively. The afternoon session commenced with an interesting keynote lecture by Prof James Ferguson on Photomedicine: past, present and future. However this was given outside the University in the Verdant Works as we then proceeded to learn some of the history of Dundee in the Jute Museum. Here the manufacturing of ropes, sacking and sails from jute stems imported from Bombay was demonstrated and displays showed the very poor social conditions of the thousands of women employed in the numerous jute mills in the city in the Victorian era. From the Verdant Works we went to RRS Discovery, the polar exploration ship of Captain RF Scott, which was built in Dundee. Once on board we drank champagne as we surveyed the scene then toured the ship. The evening concluded with the Conference Dinner to which we were ceremonially piped by Nigel Malcolm-Smith, who is Secretary of the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine. The toast to the Scottish Society was given by John Ward, President of the British Society and the reply, toasting the British Society, was given by Roy Miller the Vice-President of the Scottish Society. . As with all the meals, the food and service were excellent and the ambience convivial. In the last session of the congress on Saturday morning, eleven free papers were presented in two parallel programmes entitled Teaching and Teachers and Practice and Profession respectively. Again everyone kept to time and interchange between sessions was possible. Four posters were also displayed during the congress which could be read at leisure. The poster on honey by David and Bronwen Wright had additional pleasure as, on arrival at the congress, we had been treated to honey tasting. David and Lynn Smith, History of Medicine booksellers, had their usual excellent display of books for sale in the area adjacent to the Main Auditorium. Books by delegates and others, advertised or on sale in the same area, included "In Arduis Fidelis. Centenary History of the Royal Army Medical Corps", "The Conscript Doctors", and other books by John Blair. Connecting the military theme to the Dundee 40 celebrations, one of these showed Lt. Col. John Blair as commanding officer of the Dundee OTC when the Queen Mother visited in 1967 for the inauguration of Dundee as a separate university. The congress concluded with the AGM of the BSHM; Dr David Wright took over the role of President and we looked forward to the 23rd Congress being held in Belfast in 2009. Barbara and David Hawgood |
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The following have been members of the Organising Committee
Photographs on this page are by David Hawgood
www.bshm.org.uk, amended 9 Oct 2007
