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Contagionism and Contagious Diseases Conference 2011 – Registration Now Open

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Research Summary: Contagionism and Contagious Diseases Conference 2011

Category: International Academic Conference — History of Medicine and Literature
Dates & Location: 25–27 August 2011, Newcastle University
Primary Themes: Construction of Key Diseases (1880–1933); Infection as Metaphor; Narrativity in bacteriology and infectiology
Organizers: Dr Thomas Rütten (Northern Centre for the History of Medicine, Newcastle) and Dr Martina King (Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich; Glasgow University)
Funding: Wellcome Trust international conference
Disciplinary Focus: Interdisciplinary scholarship bridging medicine, literature, philosophy, and cultural history around contagion discourse
Key Inquiry: Examines how infectious diseases were constructed in medical and literary discourses; traces metaphorical development of infection with political and imperialist implications; explores narrative potential of bacteriology in popular and fictional representations

The Northern Centre for the History of Medicine (Newcastle) is delighted to announce that registration is now open for the conference:

CONTAGIONISM AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IN MEDICINE AND LITERATURE BETWEEN 1880 and 1933
25 – 27 August 2011, Newcastle University
A Wellcome funded international conference bringing together scholars working on the interface of medicine and literature to discuss the theme of contagionism and contagious diseases between 1880 and 1933. Organised by Dr Thomas Rütten (Northern Centre for the History of Medicine, Newcastle University) and Dr Martina King (Institut für Deutsche Philologie, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich and School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Glasgow University).

The Conference will address three main themes:

* Construction of Key Diseases: The way in which infectious diseases are caught in medical, philosophical and literary discourses around 1900.
* Infection as Metaphor: The development, around 1900, of ‘infection’ and ‘contamination’ into powerful metaphors laced with a wide range of political, imperialist and colonialist implications.
* Narrativity: The narrative potential of bacteriology and infectiology in popular depictions, raising issues of poeticity and genre, along with questions as to the suitability of such narratives for fictional worlds.

For more information about the conference and to register for a place, please visit the conference web site.

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