04/12/23

Library closed next december 7

The Biblioteca Historicomèdica (Historical Medical Library) will be closed next Thursday, December 7. You will have at your disposal the Study Room on the first floor and in its usual schedule.

We apologize for the inconvenience

08/11/23

Book presentation: Carmel Ferragud and José Ramón Bertomeu (eds.), Pensar la medicina amb la història. Homenatge to Professor María José Báguena Cervellera

Publications of the Universitat de València, 2023.

Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 5 pm. Auditorium, Palau Cerveró

Zoom: https://uv-es.zoom.us/j/96349408410

Speakers:

José Ramón Bertomeu i Carmel Ferragud (Universitat de València), editors of the book.

María Isabel Porras Gallo (University of Castilla-la Mancha).

Rosa Ballester Añón (Emeritus Professor of History of Science, Miguel Hernández University).

Sixteen researchers have collaborated in this volume that pays tribute to Professor María José Báguena, who was a member of the Institute since its foundation, as well as a professor in the Department of History of Science and Documentation for many years. The book reflects the changes that the history of medicine has undergone during the last decades. The topics, characters and spaces have been expanded. New sources have been introduced, the number of professionals has increased and the educational itineraries have also broadened, both in the area of biomedicine and in history, anthropology and sociology. Finally, and partly as a result of these changes, new readerships have emerged, from health personnel and medical students to patient associations, activist groups and the general public.

Professor María José Báguena Cervellera (1956-2021) has been a witness and protagonist of all these changes throughout more than forty years of full dedication to the history of medicine. His works have revolved around topics such as the history of diseases, epidemics, vaccines, hygiene or Valencian medicine, among many others. These issues can be traced in the chapters of this collective book, which is the continuation of a long dialogue between the authors and Professor Báguena.

The book thus offers an overview of the new trends in the history of medicine, which María José Báguena contributed to promoting with a large number of academic publications, supervised theses and multiple teaching and dissemination activities. The authors of these chapters show our recognition and appreciation to our late colleague through small samples of our most recent research. The chapters dialogue with the Valencian historic-medical tradition that Professor Báguena cultivated with the double perspective coming from her intimate knowledge of traditional techniques and the creative assimilation of new historiographic currents. In addition to a small posthumous tribute, this book is also an introduction to the diverse ways of thinking and writing the history of medicine during the first decades of the 21st century.

More details: https://puv.uv.es/pensar-la-medicina-amb-la-historia.html

02/11/23

Publication of the book Historia de la tecnología a través de veinte objetos (History of technology through twenty objects) by Pedro Ruiz-Castell

Pedro Ruiz-Castell, IILP researcher and professor of history of science at the Universitat de València, has published his latest book: Historia de la tecnología a través de veinte objetos (Institució Alfons el Magnànim, 2023). It is a popular work, conceived as an introductory manual to the studies of the history of technology, which shows how technological development has been influenced throughout history by aspects such as politics, religion, war, economy or culture. Based on some twenty objects, the book deals, briefly but rigorously, with a history of more than 400,000 years to which the reader looks through some historiographical debates from the field of the history of science and technology. An approach that vindicates the importance of studying the past to better understand the complexity of scientific and technological activity and to provide elements for critical reflection on the current problems of a world in which technology is increasingly important.

24/10/23

Publication of the popular science book: "Entre venenos: crímenes y castigos desde la Edad Media hasta el presente" (Among poisons: crimes and punishments from the Middle Ages to the present).

The Publications Service of the Universitat de València and the publishing house Bromera have just published in spanish and valencian version respectively the book Entre venenos: crímenes y castigos desde la edad mediana hasta el presente / Entre verins: crims i càstigs des de l'edat mitjana fins el present, by Carmel Ferragud and José Ramón Bertomeu, both professors at the Universitat de València and researchers at the Institut Interuniversitari López Piñero. This work was a finalist in the XXVIII European Prize for Scientific Dissemination "Estudi General", which is held annually in the city of Alzira, as part of the literary prizes organized and awarded in conjunction with the publishing house Bromera.

Through the consultation of abundant printed and manuscript sources, many of which are unpublished, six tragic cases of poisoning that occurred between the Middle Ages and the twentieth century are thoroughly reconstructed to help us understand the changes in the social, cultural, political, economic and scientific aspects of the universe of poisons. This combination of the microhistorical scale with the long term and the comparative study allows us to question the most common clichés about poisons today, such as the archetype of women poisoners or the value attributed to scientific and medical evidence in trials. These cases show the plurality of ways of approaching poisonings, both because of the diverse conceptions about the substances, the variety of experts involved in their investigation and the heterogeneous set of methods for detecting poisons available at each moment, each with different evidentiary power in the corresponding legal contexts. Thus, through toxic products and associated violence, the intricate relationships between science, medicine and justice are explored.

The book is written in a style that maintains the characteristic mystery of poisoning crimes and can be read as a crime novel with surprising characters, terrifying episodes and judicial investigations with varying degrees of uncertainty.

More information:

https://puv.uv.es/entre-venenos.html?___store=valencia&___from_store=espanyol

29/09/23

Library closed on the afternoons of October 10 and 11

The Researchers' Room of the Biblioteca Historicomèdica will be closed on the afternoons of October 10 and 11.

The Study Room will maintain its usual opening hours.

We apologize for any inconvenience.