HistoryHub
Connecting past and present
Since it was setup in 2006 UCD Centre for the History of Medicine (CHOMI) has been committed to the use of new media to engage with academic communities and interested publics. The Centre podcasts its annual seminars, workshops and many of its public engagement events. History Hub is delighted to host this wonderful archive of podcasts and videos which are such an invaluable resource.
The UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland (CHOMI) is based in the School of History at University College Dublin. Established in 2006, the Centre is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study of the medical humanities and the social and cultural history of medicine. Directed by Professor Catherine Cox, the Centre’s research and other activities are supported by a range of funding bodies including Wellcome Trust.
Since it was setup, CHOMI has been committed to the use of new media to engage with academic communities and interested publics. The Centre podcasts its annual seminars, workshops and many public engagement events. History Hub is delighted to host CHOMI’s wonderful archive of podcasts and videos which have been compiled since 2010. They are an invaluable resource for members of the public and researchers alike.
There are more than 80 episodes of the UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland podcast available to listeners for free. You can listen to the podcasts on Apple, Spotify, and on Soundcloud.
Highlights from the podcast series include:
The complete archive of podcasts, compiled since 2010, are available below.
The Centre has hosted many conferences, workshops, and symposia in University College Dublin with invited speakers from all around the world. Many of the research papers from these events were recorded and are available to podcast. These events include:
Prisoners’ health has been a long-standing, historical concern of prison reform groups and individual campaigners. This policy workshop explored the methodologies of current and past campaigns, asking how effective they have been in raising awareness, lobbying governments and driving change. Drawing on a number of historical and contemporary case studies, which explicitly focus on health-related topics, it explored reformers’ operational practices and institutional relationships.
The workshop took place as part of a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award to the project – Prisoners, Medical Care and Entitlement to Health in England and Ireland, 1850-2000 – which was led by co-PIs Professor Catherine Cox (UCD) and Professor Hilary Marland (University of Warwick).
This two-day UCD symposium examined the theme of medical training and education with the overall aspiration of broadening understanding of the changing experiences of students and those undergoing medicoscientific training in a variety of institutional and international settings in the modern period. Convened by Dr Laura Kelly, the conference was funded by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Scheme.
This two-day conference focused on understanding healthcare, and in particular hospital provision, through the prism of regionality in Britain and Ireland. Convened by Dr Sean Lucey, the conference was funded by IRCHSS (IRC).
Funded by Wellcome Trust, this two-day workshop focused on the relationship between illness, migration, discrimination and social dislocation primarily during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The workshop was the second event associated with the Wellcome Trust funded project ‘Madness, Migration and the Irish in Lancashire, c.1850-1921’. Videos of the conference papers, complete with slides, are also available to view here.
The UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland has also supported the production of video content designed to promote awareness of the social and cultural history of medicine in Ireland. Examples of this video content include:
CHOMI worked with the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick (CHM) and Talking Birds to develop a theatre production which explored why the mid-19th century saw a prevalence of mental disorders among Irish migrants. The piece was called ‘A Malady of Migration’ and was based on research carried out by Professor Hilary Marland of Warwick and Professor Catherine Cox of University College Dublin, in a project called Madness, Migration and the Irish in Lancashire, c.1850-1921, funded by the Wellcome Trust. ‘A Malady of Migration’ was a chance to showcase research in a way that is interesting, informative and sensitive, weaving in stories based on patients’ case histories and experiences.
In the first half of 1847 an estimated 300,000 Irish migrants arrived into the port of Liverpool. Irish migration into Lancashire escalated significantly during the Great Famine and remained high in the post-famine period. Irish migrants were described as being markedly susceptible to mental illness and Lancashire’s four major asylums absorbed a huge number of Irish migrants from the 1850s onwards. A three-year, Wellcome trust funded project – Madness, migration and the Irish in Lancashire c.1850-1921 – was set up to examine this phenomenon. The project assesses whether there were particular stereotypes and concerns, which influenced the incarceration and treatment of Irish patients, and places the experiences of Irish patients and those treating them within a broader canvass of efforts to tackle disease, poverty, intemperance and social dislocation in Lancashire. This video explains the ideas which informed the project.
The Royal College of Science for Ireland existed between 1867-1926. It was an institution which marked a key moment in the development of science education in Ireland. The library of the Royal College of Science for Ireland is one of the most comprehensive Victorian science libraries in existence. It is unique in Ireland and UCD Library has had the privilege of inheriting this vast collection of approximately 15,000 items. The James Joyce Library and Special Collections contain thousands of books, maps, pamphlets, journals, and other printed materials which were once part of the RCScI library and that of its predecessor, the Museum of Irish Industry.
The RCScI Library remained in Merrion Street until UCD began its move from the city centre to Belfield in the 1960s. According to Evelyn Flanagan, Head of Special Collections at UCD: “The RCScI library was then moved to the Science Building in Belfield and following its construction in the 1970s, to the main library building, now the James Joyce Library. By the 2000s much of the library had become dispersed because of the various moves. In 2011 UCD received a grant from the Wellcome Trust to identify all RCScI books and journals and to carry out a conservation report. This was followed by the consolidation of the book collection in UCD Library Special Collections“.
The video tells the story of the RCScI Library.
UCD Historian Professor Catherine Cox (Director, Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland) demonstrates the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science Catalogue database now available through the UCD Digital Library. The scope of the project was to create a complete catalogue of the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science from its creation in 1832 up to the end of 1949. The Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science, which was published under various titles over its lifetime, is the longest running medical journal in Ireland and is a vital source for the history and development of the medical profession in Ireland. This project aims to open up the journal to researchers by providing, for the first time, a full catalogue of all entries in the journal, not just the principle research articles.
The UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland is a lively, interdisciplinary community of scholars and students engaged in research and teaching in medical history and humanities, the life sciences and public health. For more information about the Centre’s activities and events please check out their website: https://www.ucd.ie/chomi
UCD offers a variety of study options and entry pathways, ranging from full-time degrees to short-term courses for pure interest. Lifelong Learning offers all adult learners the opportunity to explore a subject of their choice without the pressure of an examination. Open Learning is a flexible way of studying history part-time at UCD. Explore your UCD History options for the coming year.
In episode 3 of AFTERLIVES, Dr Mary McAuliffe (UCD, Gender Studies) is joined by Professor Ingrid Sharp (University of Leeds, German Cultural & Gender History) and Dr Corinne Painter (University of Leeds, Intercultural Studies) to discuss the lived experience of Irish and German suffrage, socialist and activist women in the aftermath of war and revolution.
History Hub presents a series of interviews between our editor Dr Irial Glynn and a number of leading experts on the history of xenophobia.
In episode 2 of AFTERLIVES, Associate Professor Fionnuala Walsh (UCD School of History) is joined by Dr Leeann Lane (DCU) and Professor Lindsey Earner-Byrne (TCD) to discuss the ordinary lived experience of Irish women in the aftermath of war and revolution and also their work uncovering poverty, welfare and the search for recognition of women’s contributions and losses.
In this episode of History Hub’s podcast series, a recording of ‘St Brigit and the beginnings of Irish history’ a panel discussion organised by UCD’s Dr Fionnuala Walsh. The panel discussion featured historians: Associate Prof. Elva Johnston (UCD); Assistant Professor Megan Welton (UCD); Dr Niamh Wycherley (Maynooth); and Dr Elizabeth Dawson (Carlow College).
