Presentation Title
Women’s Bodies: A Medical Trading Zone
Major Field of Study
History
Location
Dominican University of California (online)
Start Date
19-6-2021 3:00 PM
End Date
19-6-2021 4:00 PM
Abstract
In 1609, the French royal midwife, Louise Bourgeois (1563–1636), became “the first woman practicing [her] art to take up the pen” when she recorded three volumes of Observations based on 2,000 cases of caring for women’s health. These writings provide a historical context for exploring the neighborhood networks and negotiation of authority in a medical trading zone among the diverse community of women’s health practitioners. A trading zone, a term borrowed from anthropology and adopted by historians of science, refers to a place of reciprocal exchange of knowledge or expertise between practitioners with experiential skills and learned individuals. Bourgeois offers a microhistory revealing collaboration and negotiation in practice and knowledge-making among practitioners. Her nuanced account challenges the monolithic grand narrative of a rigid medical hierarchy by citing examples where the work of the learned physician or surgeon and that of the experienced, skilled midwife moved closer together: communicating, collaborating, and adopting each other’s practices, remedies, and materials.
Women’s Bodies: A Medical Trading Zone
Dominican University of California (online)
In 1609, the French royal midwife, Louise Bourgeois (1563–1636), became “the first woman practicing [her] art to take up the pen” when she recorded three volumes of Observations based on 2,000 cases of caring for women’s health. These writings provide a historical context for exploring the neighborhood networks and negotiation of authority in a medical trading zone among the diverse community of women’s health practitioners. A trading zone, a term borrowed from anthropology and adopted by historians of science, refers to a place of reciprocal exchange of knowledge or expertise between practitioners with experiential skills and learned individuals. Bourgeois offers a microhistory revealing collaboration and negotiation in practice and knowledge-making among practitioners. Her nuanced account challenges the monolithic grand narrative of a rigid medical hierarchy by citing examples where the work of the learned physician or surgeon and that of the experienced, skilled midwife moved closer together: communicating, collaborating, and adopting each other’s practices, remedies, and materials.
Presenter Biography
Ms Christianson enrolled in Stanford's MLA program to pursue her interest in the history of early modern European medicine while refining her skills as an academic and science writer. In addition to her research in Parisian medical and historical libraries, she brings her knowledge of current issues surrounding women's health that she has gained as an experienced therapist working in maternal and child healthcare. Now a recent graduate, Ms Christianson lives in Palo Alto, California.