HomePost-doctorate on history of syphilis and neverending infectious diseases
Post-doctorate on history of syphilis and neverending infectious diseases
Post-doctorat sur les maladies infectieuses sans fin : le cas de la syphilis
Published on Thursday, May 12, 2022
Summary
The objective of this project is to identify and investigate the variety of factors that explain the paradox of the non-eradication of some infectious diseases. The post-doctoral researcher will contribute to a history of medical collections, materiality and remediation of artefacts related to the history of syphilis and neverending infectious diseases. He/she will work directly with the inventory and valorisation of the histo-pathological material archives at the historical Institut d’Anatomie Pathologique de Strasbourg and with the 3D-digitalisation of wax moulages in Geneva.
Announcement
Project Description
There are "old" infectious diseases, whose prevention and treatment are - in theory - mastered by modern medicine and public health, that are not disappearing. The incidence of some is even increasing. Why and how do these diseases challenge medical modernity?
The objective of this project is to identify and investigate the variety of factors that explain the paradox of the non-eradication of some infectious diseases. We hypothesize that this paradox can only be explained through an interdisciplinary approach combining medical, scientific, historical and cultural perspectives, and embedding biomedical and epidemiological knowledge in a long chronology of social, cultural and political responses to the disease. The research focus of our project is the exemplary case of syphilis, an infectious disease with complex clinical manifestations and a thorny socio-cultural status as a “shameful” sexual disease. Syphilis has been the target of prevention campaigns since the late nineteenth century; its treatment was revolutionized by the development of antibiotics; and yet it has been making a comeback in recent years.
Through a multi-factorial and multi-disciplinary approach, this project proposes an original model to analyze the complex phenomenon of non-eradication. Our objective is to propose a model that is transposable, fully or partially, to the investigation of other resistant or re-emerging infectious diseases. Our research mobilizes an original set of understudied medical, textual, visual, and material sources. They range from bacteriological and epidemiological data to biological samples, microscope slides and paraffin blocks; from literary texts to local and international historical archives; from public prevention posters and films to collections of pathological illustrations, medical photography, and anatomic wax moulages.
The project identifies several fields of research that mobilize expertise from a variety of disciplinary horizons: biomedicine and clinical medicine, biology and genomics, history of science and medicine, material and art history, cultural history, literature, film studies, conservation and museography
Post-doc project description
The post-doctoral researcher will contribute to a history of medical collections, materiality and remediation of artefacts related to the history of syphilis and neverending infectious diseases. They will work directly with the inventory and valorisation of the histo-pathological material archives at the historical Institut d’Anatomie Pathologique de Strasbourg and with the 3D-digitalisation of wax moulages in Geneva. They will be part of a research team to evaluate, propose and implement a project to make use of these “objects.”
Working conditions and salary
The post-doctoral researcher will be employed for the duration of 12 months. The contract will begin on the 1st of September 2022.
The researchers will be associated members of the UMR research group SAGE (Societies, actors and government in Europe) at the Université de Strasbourg.
For further information or details on salary, you may contact Tricia Close-Koenig.
Requirements and research skills
The candidate must be a holder of a doctoral degree from a highly recognized university in the history of medicine, history, sociology/history of science, or related discipline.
The candidate must demonstrate a mastery of research techniques in social sciences: archival work, sound analysis and remediation of material sources and good knowledge of the literature related to the field.
Application
Candidates for the position are asked to send
- a motivation letter,
- a detailed CV
- a 2 page post-doc research project proposal
- a chapter of their PhD thesis or a major article publication
- a letter of recommendation and two complementary reference names
by email to Christian Bonah (bonah@unistra.fr) and Tricia Close-Koenig (tkoenig@unistra.fr).
The application deadline is
the 20th of May 2022.
Interviews will be scheduled on the 31/05/2022.
For further information on the FNS-Sinergia project: https://neverending.unige.ch/
Subjects
- History (Main subject)
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Mind and language > Representation > Heritage
- Society > Science studies
- Zones and regions > Europe
Places
- Strasbourg, France (67)
Date(s)
- Friday, May 20, 2022
Attached files
Keywords
- histoire médicale, histoire matérielle, collections médicales, anatomie pathologique, patrimoine
Contact(s)
- Tricia Close-Koenig
courriel : tkoenig [at] unistra [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Tricia Close-Koenig
courriel : tkoenig [at] unistra [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Post-doctorate on history of syphilis and neverending infectious diseases », Scholarship, prize and job offer, Calenda, Published on Thursday, May 12, 2022, https://calenda.org/995754
