Making Sense of Medicine : Material Culture and the Reproduction of Medical Knowledge

A critical reflection on the relationship between materials and the reproduction of medical knowledge. 

Medical knowledge manifests in materials, and materials are integral to the reproduction of medical knowledge. From the novice student to the expert practitioner, those who study and work in and around medicine rely on material guidance in their everyday practice and as they seek to further their craft. To that end, this edited collection brings together historians, anthropologists, educators, artists, and curators to explore the role of materiality in medical education. 

With a broad temporal focus and international scope, the volume focuses on the materials, objects, tools, and technologies that facilitate the reproduction of medical knowledge and often also reify understandings of medical science. Experimental in form and supplemented with ethnographic, museological, and historical cases from around the world, this edited volume is the first to fully explore the matter of medical education in the modern world.

John Nott is an economic and medical historian and a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. 

Anna Harris is associate professor of anthropology and science and technology studies at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.