- The Wellcome Trust, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Simon Chaplin
Wellcome Trust, Culture and Society, Department Member
Research Interests:
This essay explores the culture of displaying the bodies which had been subjected to dissection for medical and/or judicial purposes in 18th-century London. It argues that 'anatomisation' in this period carried strong connotations of... more
This essay explores the culture of displaying the bodies which had been subjected to dissection for medical and/or judicial purposes in 18th-century London. It argues that 'anatomisation' in this period carried strong connotations of public exposure which in turn contributed to the problematisation of the act of dissection.
Research Interests:
Medical libraries are dying. Or at least some specific sorts of medical libraries - independent institutional libraries, owned by historic organizations, in historic buildings, with large historic collections - are under serious threat of... more
Medical libraries are dying. Or at least some specific sorts of medical libraries - independent institutional libraries, owned by historic organizations, in historic buildings, with large historic collections - are under serious threat of themselves becoming part of the past. To mitigate this threat, there is a need to rethink the nature of the “historic” medical library. This involves reconsidering the library’s relationship to medicine and the history of medicine as disciplines, defining what is important about the nature of the library as a physical space and of its collections as material things, and reevaluating its audiences.
Research Interests:
What is the future for medical museums? This essay, co-authored by the Head of Public Programmes at Wellcome Collection and the Head of the Wellcome Library, explores some of the historical features of medical museums, and uses the... more
What is the future for medical museums? This essay, co-authored by the Head of Public Programmes at Wellcome Collection and the Head of the Wellcome Library, explores some of the historical features of medical museums, and uses the experience of creating a new cultural venue, Wellcome Collection, to suggest ways in which medical museums might adapt to new challenges.
Research Interests:
At his death in 1793 the museum of the surgeon and anatomist John Hunter contained over thirteen thousand specimens and objects. Although many were the familiar stuff of natural history, the core of the collection consisted of over seven... more
At his death in 1793 the museum of the surgeon and anatomist John Hunter contained over thirteen thousand specimens and objects. Although many were the familiar stuff of natural history, the core of the collection consisted of over seven thousand human or animal body parts or ‘anatomical preparations’. They were testament to and the product of Hunter’s assiduous work as a dissector of dead bodies; a practice which, though becoming more widespread among medical practitioners, nevertheless possessed discomforting associations of personal and public impropriety. This paper explores the way in which the display of anatomical preparations served to legitimize dissection as a mode of natural historical inquiry, and by extension defused some of the social and moral anxieties surrounding the activities of private anatomy teachers in Georgian London.
Research Interests:
This thesis considers the role and function of the museum of John Hunter (1728-1793). It examines the connections between dissection and the preserving, collecting and displaying of dissected body parts ('anatomical preparations') in... more
This thesis considers the role and function of the museum of John Hunter (1728-1793). It examines the connections between dissection and the preserving, collecting and displaying of dissected body parts ('anatomical preparations') in London in the second half of the 18th century. It coins the term 'museum oeconomy' to describe this system of relationships.
Research Interests:
An anatomy museum with anonymous human remains: the illuminated jars draw the viewer towards their unsettling contents, eerily beautiful. The dissected organs begin to tell their tales of woe, from a Bishop's rectum to the... more
An anatomy museum with anonymous human remains: the illuminated jars draw the viewer towards their unsettling contents, eerily beautiful. The dissected organs begin to tell their tales of woe, from a Bishop's rectum to the poisoned womb of a.
The study of anatomy in England during the 18th and 19th century has become infamous for bodysnatching from graveyards to provide a sufficient supply of cadavers. However, recent discoveries have improved our understanding of how and why... more
The study of anatomy in England during the 18th and 19th century has become infamous for bodysnatching from graveyards to provide a sufficient supply of cadavers. However, recent discoveries have improved our understanding of how and why anatomy was studied during the enlightenment, and allow us to see the context in which dissection of the human body took place. Excavations of infirmary burial grounds and medical school cemeteries, study of hospital archives, and analysis of the content of surviving anatomical collections in medical museums enables us to re-evaluate the field from a fresh perspective. The pathway from a death in poverty, sale of the corpse to body dealer, dissection by anatomist or medical student, and either the disposal and burial of the remains or preservation of teaching specimens that survive today in medical museums is a complex and fascinating one.
Research Interests:
Simon Chaplin describes the extraordinary personal museum of the 18th-century anatomist and gentleman-dissector John Hunter, and suggests that this, and others like it, played a critical role in establishing an acceptable view of... more
Simon Chaplin describes the extraordinary personal museum of the 18th-century anatomist and gentleman-dissector John Hunter, and suggests that this, and others like it, played a critical role in establishing an acceptable view of dissection.
In February 2005, the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England re-opens to the public after a two-year closure for refurbishment. At the heart of the museum lies an extraordinary collection of over 3,500 anatomical and pathological preparations, specimens of natural history, fossils, paintings and drawings assembled by the Scottish-born surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-93).
In February 2005, the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England re-opens to the public after a two-year closure for refurbishment. At the heart of the museum lies an extraordinary collection of over 3,500 anatomical and pathological preparations, specimens of natural history, fossils, paintings and drawings assembled by the Scottish-born surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-93).
Research Interests:
Surgery in the United Kingdom has been practiced for nearly 2000 years. It has evolved as a result of the experiences of warfare and the introduction of the scientific basis of surgery. The influence of the 4 surgical royal colleges in... more
Surgery in the United Kingdom has been practiced for nearly 2000 years. It has evolved as a result of the experiences of warfare and the introduction of the scientific basis of surgery. The influence of the 4 surgical royal colleges in setting standards for training and examinations has ensured that new surgeons are equipped for independent practice as consultants. Responsibility for the National Health Service rests with the government, which determines the number of trainee surgeons in the various surgical specialties. Conflicts between service provision and training are highlighted, as are the pressures on academic institutions to meet the demands of clinical surgery. The government's National Health Service plan for England promises a major expansion in undergraduate places and an increase of 7500 consultants in all specialties by 2004. Time will tell if these changes lead to an improvement in surgical services and a reduction in waiting times.
Research Interests:
Download a branded Cambridge Journals Online toolbar (for IE 7 only). What is this? ... Add Cambridge Journals Online as a search option in your browser toolbar. What is this? ... KEN ARNOLD and DANIELLE OLSEN (eds.), Medicine Man: The... more
Download a branded Cambridge Journals Online toolbar (for IE 7 only). What is this? ... Add Cambridge Journals Online as a search option in your browser toolbar. What is this? ... KEN ARNOLD and DANIELLE OLSEN (eds.), Medicine Man: The Forgotten Museum of Henry ...
Research Interests:
The main title of this book is seemingly a rather flippant one for such a serious and authoritative text, but do not allow this to put you off reading it or even possessing a copy. The St Alban's Club (which meets on Wednes-days... more
The main title of this book is seemingly a rather flippant one for such a serious and authoritative text, but do not allow this to put you off reading it or even possessing a copy. The St Alban's Club (which meets on Wednes-days unlike the Sydenham Club, which dines on Mondays) ...