Call for Papers
Society for the Social History of Medicine Biennial Conference
Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare (CSHHH) University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
‘Resistance’
Tuesday 16 July – Friday 19 July 2024
Keynote Speakers
Professor Matthew Smith
Professor Alondra Nelson
Dr Martijn van der Meer
The Society for the Social History of Medicine hosts a major biennial, international and interdisciplinary conference. In the years without an SSHM conference, we sponsor the biennial conference of the European Association for the History of Medicine and Health. The theme of our 2024 conference is ‘Resistance’. The conference will take place in hybrid format and is being organised by the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. The 2020s have been witness to a diverse range of forms of resistance and social protest internationally, most notably, the Black Lives Matter movement which has drawn further attention to issues of race inequality. Moreover, the last few years have seen the growth of health activist movements such as campaigns for reproductive rights, while in the UK, health workers such as nurses and junior doctors have engaged in industrial action around working conditions. Yet, conservative groups, for example, the anti-vaccination movement, have also manifested resistance against public health strategies. Taking a broad definition of the term ‘Resistance’, we invite papers that look at histories of health and resistance. These might may explore, but are not limited to, any of the following themes in any period or geographical location:
Medical practitioners and resistance
Health and social protest
Race and resistance
Resistance to medical authority or ideas
Challenges to medical or scientific practices
Resistance to medical treatment
Challenges to public health
Community activism
Drugs and resistance
Medicine, health and power
Gender, sexualities, and resistance
Alternative medicine as resistance
Reproductive rights and resistance
How to apply:
Proposals for papers, in a single Word document including a 250 word abstract and a short bio, should be sent to hass-resistance@strath.ac.uk by 2 February 2024 Please also indicate whether you plan to attend on campus or online. Proposals for panels of 3-4 papers are also welcome and should include the same information as well as a statement of the overall aims of the panel. Panel proposals may include a mix of speakers attending on campus and online. It should be noted, however, that proposing a panel is no guarantee of inclusion in the programme.
We particularly welcome papers or panels that are explicitly inclusive and embed diversity into our discussions.Registration for the conference will open in Spring 2024: please check back on the Society’s webpages for details of how to register.
Please note: SSHM bursaries are available for student/ECR participants, and details can be found at the Society’s web page
Enquiries about bursaries should be sent to the SSHM Executive Secretary, not the conference address.