London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS)
Local History Conference
Saturday 16th November 2019, Museum of London

Health and Wellbeing of Londoners through History

Call for papers
The aim of this one-day conference is to investigate and explore health and wellbeing, in the broadest sense, throughout London’s long history. The organisers of the conference are seeking proposals from local historians, academics, postgraduate students, and anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of health and wellbeing in London for engaging and accessible talks or presentations of around 20-25 minutes.

The LAMAS Local History Conference attracts a keen ‘general interest’ audience as well as many members of local history societies from across London and its surrounding counties who have more specialised interests.

Papers on any aspect of health and wellbeing from any period in the history of London and its hinterlands are welcomed. Themes might include:

• Practitioners (physicians, surgeons, doctors, apothecaries, barber surgeons etc.)
• Women (nursing, midwifery, pregnancy, abortion, childcare, etc.)
• Disease (infections, viruses, workplace ailments, situational illnesses)
• Infrastructures (hospitals, clinics, asylums, hospices, dispensaries, etc.)
• Learning and teaching (training, qualifications, professionalization, etc.)
• Early intervention (amputation, trepanning, leeches, etc.)
• Mental health (provision, developments, treatments, attitudes etc.)
• Medical technology (equipment, procedures, anaesthetics, prosthetics etc.)
• Hospital museums (i.e. Hunterian, Barts, The Foundling, The Royal London, The Old Operating Theatre, Chelsea Physic Garden, etc.)
• Breakthroughs and impacts (i.e. circulation of blood, vaccines, insulin, penicillin, smallpox prevention, DNA, etc.)
• Impact of religion and belief on health and medicine
• Health, medicine and crime (bodysnatching, baby farming, ‘quack’ medicines, miracle cures, etc.)

Proposals comprising an abstract of no more than 500 words should be sent, preferably via e-mail, to John Price j.price@gold.ac.uk or via the Department of History, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW.

The closing date for proposals is Monday 15 April 2019. Speakers will be selected and contacted by the end of May 2019.