Images and Texts in Medical History: An Introduction to Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities

FAIN: HC-230697-15

Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA 24061-2000)
Tom Ewing (Project Director: January 2015 to January 2017)
Amy K. Nelson (Co Project Director: April 2015 to January 2017)

A cooperative agreement between the NEH and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to organize a two-day workshop for medical historians, librarians, archivists, and graduate students on computational approaches to studying medical images and textual materials.  The workshop would be held at the US National Library of Medicine and would include the participation of the American Association for the History of Medicine and the Wellcome Trust from the United Kingdom.

This workshop is designed to provide medical historians with an opportunity to learn about tools, methods, and texts in the digital humanities that can inform their teaching and scholarship. Presentations by leading scholars in digital humanities will demonstrate how emerging approaches to the analysis of texts and images can be used by scholars and librarians in the field of medical history. By focusing on the new methods, tools, and data related to images and texts, this workshop will engage key issues in the history of medicine, including, but not limited to, the spread of disease, the rise of health professions, scientific research, health policy, and cultural definitions of health and disease.The workshop format is designed to provide attendees with a broad awareness of potential digital humanities applications, practical advice on the value of digital tools, and guided instruction on the application of these tools to understanding materials directly relevant to their research and scholarship. By the end of the workshop, attendees should have a widely expanded toolkit for research and teaching in medical history as well as an appreciation for potential future directions in their field.

Media Coverage

Images and Texts in Medical History—Miriam Posner (Media Coverage)
Publication: Circulating Now: From the Historical Collections of the National Library of Medicine
Date: 4/5/2016
Abstract: On April 11-13, 2016, the National Library of Medicine will host the workshop “Images and Texts in Medical History: An Introduction to Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through a generous grant to Virginia Tech, and held in cooperation with Virginia Tech, The Wellcome Library and The Wellcome Trust. Seventy-Five participants and observers will gather to explore innovative methods and data sources useful for analyzing images and texts in the field of medical history. The program will include hands-on sessions with Miram Posner and Benjamin Schmidt and a public keynote address by Jeremy Greene. Circulating Now interviewed the presenters and today we hear from Miriam Posner.
URL: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/05/images-and-texts-in-medical-history-miriam-posner/

Images and Texts in Medical History—Benjamin Schmidt (Media Coverage)
Publication: Circulating Now: From the Historical Collections of the National Library of Medicine
Date: 6/11/2019
Abstract: On April 11-13, 2016, the National Library of Medicine will host the workshop “Images and Texts in Medical History: An Introduction to Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through a generous grant to Virginia Tech, and held in cooperation with Virginia Tech, The Wellcome Library and The Wellcome Trust. Seventy-Five participants and observers will gather to explore innovative methods and data sources useful for analyzing images and texts in the field of medical history. The program will include hands-on sessions with Miram Posner and Benjamin Schmidt and a public keynote address by Jeremy Greene. Circulating Now interviewed the presenters and today we hear from Benjamin Schmidt.
URL: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/06/images-and-texts-in-medical-history-benjamin-schmidt/

Images and Texts in Medical History—Jeremy Greene (Media Coverage)
Publication: Circulating Now: From the Historical Collections of the National Library of Medicine
Date: 4/7/2016
Abstract: On April 11-13, 2016, the National Library of Medicine will host the workshop “Images and Texts in Medical History: An Introduction to Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through a generous grant to Virginia Tech, and held in cooperation with Virginia Tech, The Wellcome Library and The Wellcome Trust. Seventy-Five participants and observers will gather to explore innovative methods and data sources useful for analyzing images and texts in the field of medical history. The program will include hands-on sessions with Miram Posner and Benjamin Schmidt and a public keynote address by Jeremy Greene. Circulating Now interviewed the presenters and today we hear from Jeremy Greene.
URL: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/07/images-and-texts-in-medical-history-jeremy-greene/

Associated Products

Images & Texts in Medical History (Article)
Title: Images & Texts in Medical History
Author: Jeffrey Reznick
Abstract: Summary of the workshop activities and the NEH-NLM partnership.
Year: 2016
Format: Other
Periodical Title: National Library of Medicine Programs and Services 2016
Publisher: National Library of Medicine (US)

Images and Texts in Medical History (Web Resource)
Title: Images and Texts in Medical History
Author: Amy K. Nelson
Author: Tom Ewing
Abstract: Website for the Images and Text in Medical History Workshop, April 11-13, 2016.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20180809132114/http://medicalhistworkshop.org/

The Analog Patient: Imagining Medicine at a Distance in the Television Era (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Analog Patient: Imagining Medicine at a Distance in the Television Era
Writer: Jeremy Greene
Producer: NIH Video and Podcasting
Abstract: Keynote presentation to Images and Texts in Medical History: A Workshop in Methods, Tools, and Data from the Digital Humanities, April 11-13, 2016, a program hosted by the NLM, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and made possible through a multi-institutional collaboration involving the NEH, Virginia Tech, the Wellcome Library, and the Wellcome Trust.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=18760&bhcp=1
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

NLM Workshop: Images and Texts in Medical History (Article)
Title: NLM Workshop: Images and Texts in Medical History
Author: E. Thomas Ewing
Abstract: Summary of the workshop where seventy-five participants and observers gathered at the Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) in April 2016 to explore innovative methods and data sources useful for analyzing large quantities of images and texts in the field of medical history.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/v24i4/nlm-workshop-images-and-texts-in-medical-history
Access Model: Open
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The NIH Catalyst
Publisher: Natioal Institutes of Health: Office of the Director

When Television Was a Medical Device (Article)
Title: When Television Was a Medical Device
Author: Jeremy A. Greene
Abstract: This article is based on a keynote address Dr. Greene gave in April 2016 at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. The talk, drawn from a larger book project on the history of new media in medicine, was part of “Images and Texts in Medical History: A Workshop in Methods, Tools & Data from the Digital Humanities” funded by NEH and held in cooperation with Virginia Tech, the Wellcome Library, and the Wellcome Trust.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2017/spring/feature/when-television-was-medical-device
Access Model: Open
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Humanities
Publisher: National Endowment for the Humanities

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