McGill University

Graduate Student, History & Classical Studies

Ph.D. student

McGill University

Thesis Title: The Cultures of Anatomy in Enlightenment France, 1750-1789

About

My doctoral thesis examines where, how, and why human anatomy was addressed to the general public of eighteenth-century Paris. I focus on women's interaction with anatomy vis-à-vis surgeons, physicians, educators, and royally funded institutions, such as the Royal Garden and the Paris Medical Faculty. I argue that a new, feminized anatomy audience was cultivated thanks to the emergence of a social character, the amateur anatomist, who used public lectures, printed texts, and consumer objects to create and transmit knowledge. I challenge the literature that focuses on anatomy as a professional, closed rank, and male activity, offering instead a history of a broad-based discipline pursued by both sexes across social lines. My thesis contributes to new thinking on the medical marketplace, artisans, and crafts given my use of various medical museum artefacts alongside the textual historical archive. Besides anatomy, my research interests include the histories of: the French Atlantic World; women and the making of early modern science; craft knowledge, artisans, and techne; Enlightenment chemistry; scientific translation; medical objects; and Enlightenment France.

Contact Information