Every urban university campus should have a history of medicine tour – and if you’re in Oxford, you can check out this one.

A deep and lively dive into the forces that have shaped public health and medicine, and their ongoing legacies.

The history of medicine is always a bit uncomfortable. This tour walks you through the medical history of Oxford, from medieval plagues, to the founding of the medical school, and the first trials of penicillin.

Far from a straightforward linear progression, Oxford’s medical history is a complicated conversation about health equity, medical ethics, and continued clashes over the control of the body. Using the built environment, we examine health geographies, resistance to public health policies, and the tensions inherent in medical progress.

This tour platforms diverse stories while discussing histories of empire, race, class, and gender, highlighting how these narratives have an enduring impact on the practice of modern medicine.

Image and above description taken from their website, here.

Find more information by clicking here.

You can also read a number of blogs on their website about the history of medicine by clicking here or check out Oxford University’s Health Histories Project, by clicking here.

A new archeological exhibition has opened on the 29th May as part of the San Silvestro Archaeological and Mining Park.

The new exhibition provides insight into the daily life and work of the Rocca San Silvestro miners. It presents the results and work undertaken under the direction of Professor Giovanna Bianchi, one of the archeologists in our Pursing Public Health team.

Featured below is some behind the scenes photos from Andrea Tommolini, a postgraduate student working under Professor Bianchi, whose work has contributed to the exhibition. These photos highlight the zoology showcase.

Find more information on the new exhibit by clicking here.

VivaMente Conference in the History of Ideas: Deafness in the Premodern Mediterranean.

17 – 18 November 2026.

This VivaMente Conference explores deafness and the figure of the deaf person in the Mediterranean Antiquity and pre-modern ages through historical, medical, and socio-cultural perspectives.

The deadline for submission is 10 September 2026. Find more information here.

“Healing in Anatolian Culture,” to be held at Cappadocia University in Mustafapaşa, Cappadocia (Türkiye), on 24–26 September 2026.

Abstracts due 15 June 2026.

The symposium aims to explore the epistemological and practical dimensions of healing knowledge in Anatolia at the intersection of diverse disciplines, including Art History, Archaeology, History, Architecture, Literature, Gastronomy, Folklore, and Cultural Studies. The scope of inquiry focuses on key analytical themes such as visual culture, identity, image, and cultural continuity within the context of traditional healing practices. Additionally, one of the symposium’s objectives is to draw attention to the central role played by female healers, including saints, folk midwives, herbalists, and ritual practitioners, in the transmission of cultural heritage and knowledge.

While critically examining the cultural dynamics behind the popularization of traditional healing practices, the symposium aims to investigate the deep historical roots, visual and material culture dimensions, and methodological challenges of this field with scholarly rigor. The underlying premise is that this complex cultural heritage can only be grasped within the highest academic standards and through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Find more information by clicking here.

A workshop on “Mineral Expertise: The Rules of Knowing Earthly Matter in the Early Modern World”.

The workshop is organised by Sarah Seinitzer, Sebastian Felten (both SCARCE) and Monica Azzolini, Associate Professor for History of Science in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bologna.

It will take place from 4–6 February 2027 at the University of Bologna — a wonderful setting, surely also in the winter months.

You can find the full CfP by clicking here.

Susan L. Einbinder ed. and trans. “A Jewish Physician’s Response to the Black Death: Abraham Caslari’s “Tractate on Pestilential Fevers and Fever Types.”

Abraham Caslari was a Jewish physician in Catalonia, where he and his family found refuge after the great expulsion of French Jews in 1306. In 1348, he was also one of the many physicians who found themselves treating men, women, and children during the Black Death. Rejecting the emerging consensus among physicians that the fevers were pestilential, Caslari insisted that this misdiagnosis had caused many needless deaths. The Hebrew tractate that presents his analysis and recommended treatments is one of the earliest written responses to the Black Death by a contemporary physician. Writing in the shadow of the anti-Jewish violence of the time, Caslari’s exemplar is important not only for what he has to say, but because it represents a moment before genre conventions relating to Black Death tractates became fixed.

This study makes the tractate available in English for the first time, accompanied by an introduction to the work and to its remarkable author.

Find it by clicking here.

Guillet Philippe “L’Anathomia ricardius Anglicus”

This treatise appears to be the first comprehensive synthesis of the anatomical and physiological details found in Constantine the African’s Pantegni, organized according to Galen’s classification of the major organs as described in the Tegni.

German medical historians, who first published a few manuscripts at the end of the 19th century, initially believed that the work was authored in Salerno. However, this text belongs to two distinct traditions, each of which achieved remarkable success. The first tradition, authored by Ricardus anglicus, likely originated in Montpellier at the end of the 12th century and rapidly spread throughout the abbey network to northern and eastern Europe, including France, England, Germany, and Poland. The second tradition emerged as a significant revision of the original text, incorporating elements from Aristotle’s biological works shortly after their translation in the early 13th century. It was taught at the University of Montpellier and quickly spread to the same geographical regions as the first tradition.

These two traditions were adapted into the vernacular in the 15th century, demonstrating their enduring appeal over three centuries.

Find it by clicking here.