Number 18

NEWSletter

Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine

Summer, 1993

Professor puts chronicfatigue into historicalperspective

DRAWING CM HIS THOUGHT-PROVOKING BOOK FROM PARALYSIS TOFATIGUE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO'S HANNAH PROFESSOR EDWARDSHORTER TOOK THE SUBJECT OF PSYCHOGEMC DISORDERS TO FAMILYDOCTORS LAST MAY.

Delivering the HannahLecture in the History ofMedicine at the AnnualScientific Assembly of theCollege of Family Physiciansof Canada, Professor Shorterfound an audience with specialneeds.

"They haven't been exposedto the work of historians," saysProfessor Shorter. "It was a realpersonal challenge to saysomething meaningful to anaudience of clinicians."

"It was quite illuminatingfor them to see how patterns ofpsychogenic illness changehistorically—to see somethinglike paralysis be replaced bychronic fatigue syndrome."

AAHMSeven Canadian scholars, all

with connections to the HannahInstitute, presented papers tothe meeting of the American

Association for the History ofMedicine in Louisville,Kentucky, from May 13 to 16.

This year's participants werethe University of WesternOntario's Jennifer J. Connor;Dalhousie University's JohnFarley, Jock Murray andJanet Murray; Simon FraserUniversity's John F.Hutchinson; University ofToronto doctoral candidateChristopher Rutty; anddoctoral candidate Walter J.Vanast from the University ofWisconsin - Madison.

Queen's University HannahProfessor Jackie Duffin will beprogramme chair of next year'sAAHM meeting to be held inNew York City.

CSHMOttawa's Carleton Univer-

sity was the scene of this year's

meeting of the Canadian Societyfor the History of Medicine.

In addition to the broad rangeof papers presented at the June 4to 6 meeting, McMaster Univer-sity's Hannah Professor ChuckRoland was elected president ofthe Society.

And the newly appointedHannah affiliate professor atQuebec City's Universite Laval,Jacques Bernier, was electedvice-president.

Asylum inthe city

In late June, the HannahInstitute sponsored well-knownAmerican medical historianAndrew Scull to give thekeynote address, " What Can WeLearn from the Past?" at TheCity and the Asylum—a multi-faceted and multi-media look atthe history of mental health inToronto. 03

What's Inside

Conference Notes 1

Programme Profiles 2

Gazette 2-3

Scholarship news 3-4

GAZE

H A N N A H I N S T I T U T E F O R T H E H I S T O R Y O F M E D I C I N I

PROGRAMME PROFILES

Murphy moves onIf you've called the

Hannah Institute over theyears, you'll be familiar withthe friendly voice of BettyMurphy. Betty retiredrecently after five years'service. We wish Betty allthe best in her futureendeavors and welcome onboard Lee Shane.

Lee brings her talents inoffice management to theHannah Institute fromToronto's RyersonPolytechnical Institute.

mRoyal Collegemeeting mullsmedicare mayhem

The current nationalhealth care crisis canseem downrightdepressing to anyone whofollows the daily doomand gloom presented inthe media.

But the Royal CollegeofPhysidans andSurgeons' annual meetingmight be just what thedoctor ordered—a weekof reflection, analysis andsome much-neededperspective to turn allthat negative energy intosome good.

From September 9 to13 in Vancouver, theconference probes theneed for change and theways and means to do it

Symposia include"Can Our Health CareSystem be Saved?," andthe Hannah Institute'ssymposium, "Crisis!What Crisis? HistoricalPerspectives on theCanadian Health CareSystem." It is hoped asober second look willelevate participants abovethe daily maelstrom.

CONTO ONPG3

Can we talk? Hannah promotescommunication between medical schools

THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF CANADA'S MEDICAL SCHOOLS CAN BE BOTH A STRENGTH AND ADRAWBACK. AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE HANNAH INSTITUTE HOPES TO BRING THESCHOOLS A LITTLE CLOSER BY OPENING UP THE COMMUNICATION LINES FROM COAST TO COAST.

The first exchange took place this Aprilbetween the University of Western Ontarioand the University of Calgary. Medicalstudents met at Western for three days oftalks and socializing.

"One of the objectives is to have eachstudent work up a talk of ten minutes tostimulate further research," says UWOHannah Professor Paul Potter, whohelped coordinate the exchange along with

Calgary's Dr. Peter Cruse.

Topics ranged from diseases among theCree of Alberta to the old medical art ofuroscopy.

Professor Potter says he hopes theexchange will became a regular annualaffair, possibly with next year's exchangematching Calgary with Halifax'sDalhousie University.

Up close with a Neilson Award winnerDr. C. Stuart Houston makes a good

case for the nurture-over-nature argument.The latest winner of the Hannah Institute'sprestigious Neilson Award says theculture of self-reliance in Saskatchewanfermented his rich career in medicine andmedical history.

An impressive array of accomplish-ments has embellished the career of the65-year-old doctor.

He's a radiologist at Saskatoon's RoyalUniversity Hospital, and accomplished intwo fields he calls "hobbies": he's spent20 years teaching and produced fivebooks in the field of medical history, andis also a recognized ornithologist.

He's frank about the satisfaction ofbeing recognized. "People like to bestroked."

Dr. Houston says mentors hi his youthhelped turn him on to his current inter-ests.

"We had an outstanding high schoolhistory teacher who was also niy scoutmaster," says Dr. Houston. "Without thatI don't believe I would have becomewhat I am. These people got me writingand researching. All of this stimulatedme—very heady and exciting."

Dr. Houston plans to keep teachinguntil the university's official retirementage of 67, and has several books atvarious stages. One, tentatively titledWhen Saskatchewan Led the World, isstill being researched, while another bookhe worked on with his wife, Eighteenth-Century Naturalists of Hudson Bay, is inthe final draft stages.

Ottawa exhibits hysteriaAn exhibit highlighting the puzzling

concept of hysteria has won praise fromdie patrons of the University of Ottawa'sMorisset Library.

Hannah Chair Toby Gelfand anddoctoral candidate Wei Yuan combinedresearch with colour illustrations andselected books from the library's Hannah

collection for this public exhibit whichclosed June 10.

According to the University of Otta-wa's Debra Ann Begg, this dark pagefrom the history of psychiatric diagnosisraised awareness "of the library's uniqueholdings hi this subject area." 03

H A N N A H N S T I T U T E F O R T H E H I S T O R Y O F M E D

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

Application forms updated for the 1990sGrant season is upon us again, but this

year veteran form fillers will notice asubstantial make-over to the HannahInstitute's applications. The changes areintended to propel the forms forward, outof the 1970s and into the age of thepersonal computer, by incorporating aneye-pleasing, logical layout.

Unfortunately, at this stage the formscan't be fully computer-friendly through a

software package as some of you hadrequested. As a compromise, the newapplications will allow the use of wordprocessors for most of the informationrequested, and should save time andeliminate unnecessary headaches.

Please ensure that you use only the newHannah applications and destroy all out-of-date forms.

Separate scholarships for MAs, PhDsFor the first time, we are introducing a

separate scholarship for first year MAstudents. In the past, first year MAstudents had to compete against advancedMA and PhD students. The new changesand deadline of January 13 will give these

Funding deadlinesGrants

Grants-in-Aid are designed to provideresources to qualified researchers whopropose to study a significant issue relatedto the history of medicine in Canada.History of medicine is interpreted broadlyto include all of the related human healthsciences.

deadline: November I

FellowshipsThese are available competitively to

highly qualified individuals who haveobtained either a PhD in the history ofmedicine or related field or an MD degree,and who are embarking on a period of full-time post-doctoral study in the history ofmedicine. Awards are for two years only.

Some new conditions apply to thisaward, so please contact the HannahInstitute before applying.

Value $28,810

deadline: November I

Special grantsLetters of application for Special

Grants, including the new Museum andArchives Internship Grant, are welcome.

deadline: October I and April I

students more time to find their feet whenstarting graduate studies.

From now on, PhDs and second-yearMAs must request a GENERAL SCHOL-ARSHIP form. The deadline of November1 remains the same.

General scholarshipsThese scholarships are for highly quali-

fied individuals who are registered hi a full-time programme in the history of medicineleading to an MA or PhD degree. Thescholarships are only tenable at Canadianuniversities with appropriate faculty andfacilities to support graduate study in thehistory of medicine.

Value $14,865; $28,810 for MA or PhDstudents with an MD degree.

deadline: November I

First year MA scholarshipsThese scholarships are for highly-

qualified FIRST YEAR MA STUDENTSonly, registered in a full-time programme inthe history of medicine leading to an MA.The scholarships are only tenable at Cana-dian universities with appropriate facultyand facilities to support graduate study inthe history of medicine.

Value $14,865; $28,810 for FIRST YEARMA STUDENTS with an MD degree.

deadline: January 13

Studentships for undergraduatesThree-month undergraduate studentships

are available to students to carry outCdNTD.-

The Hannahsymposium will presentfour noted authoritiesfrom both Canada andthe United States,including: ProfessorBarry Edgintonfrom the University ofWinnipeg and editor-in-chief of the newly createdjournal Health andCanadian Society;plus two presentersfrom the University ofWisconsin - Madison;Ronald L Numbers,William ColemanProfessor of the Historyof Medicine and Science,Robert L Sullivan,senior researcherspecializing in the historyof medical systems InNorth America; andProfessor AngusMcLaren of theUniversity of Victoria.

As well, the HannahInstitute has put togetheran exhibit titled 'TheMedical History Behindthe Media Headlines."

"The exhibit is aboutputting the media head-lines and the currentissues determined bythe media into historicalcontext, demonstratingto the medical professionthe issues have beenaround a longtime,"says exhibit curatorJanet Thompson.

Exploring the changingrole ofheakh<areinstitutions, technology,the ro/e of women aspractitioners, the patient-physician relationship,hospital care, "high-tech"medidne and medicare,the exhibit uses anaccessible and directapproach to the oldadage that every treehas its root

H A N N A H I N S T I T U T E F O R T H E T O R Y O F M E D I C I N E

research in the history of medicineunder the supervision of a facultymember. Medical and historystudents are given preference.Value $3,675

deadline: January 20

Publications assistanceScholars wishing funding for

publications assistance should

contact the Hannah Institute fordetails.

John B. Neilson AwardThis award recognizes ongoing

contributions to the history ofmedicine by a Canadian physicianwhose primary responsibilities havebeen in some other area of theprofession.

deadline: January 31 ffl

ANNOUNCEMENT

To mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the City of York—now Toronto—a half day free medical history symposium will take placeOctober 16.

Medicine in Toronto: 200 years will include Hannah ProfessorsCharles G. Roland and Jackie Duffin as well as well-known historiansMichael Bliss and Heather MacDougall.

Interested participants can write or call Dr. Arthur Gryfe, QueenswayGeneral Hospital, Toronto Medical History Club, 150 Sherway Drive,Etobicoke, M9C 1A5,

416-259-6671

Symposium locationStart time: 9:15 a.m.

Toronto Hospital Residence, Main Auditorium, 90 Gerrard St. West

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NEWSipTTPTV C If I/ C I

The Newsletter is produced

three times a year by:

Hannah Institute for the

History of Medicine

14 Prince Arthur Avenue

Suite #101

Toronto, Ontario

M5R 1A9

Telephone 416-924-3368

Fax 416-323-3338

Editor-in-Chief

J.T.H. Connor

Editor and Writer

David South

Layout

David South

The Newsletter welcomes

information from readers

about Hannah-supported

activities, publications, orother related medical

history events.