Medical History and Bioethics

The crest of the University of Wisconsin–Madison

Graduate Students

Michitake Aso: Broadly speaking, I am interested in the history of the environment, science, and medicine in Southeast Asia. I look forward to dealing with questions that arise at the intersections of these fields in a dissertation tentatively titled "Colonial Ecologies: Environment, Health, and Politics in French Indochina, 1890-1940". I plan to focus my research on the rubber plantations of Southern Indochina and look at how the environmental and health changes brought about by these endeavors transformed both the land and the people living on it. I also hope to investigate the post-colonial memories of rubber.

Bridget Collins: Bridget studies the history of American public health, the relationships between environment and health/disease, and the history of women’s role in health care (both as providers and as patients). She completed her Master’s Paper, “Every Home Safe: Tuberculosis in Madison, WI 1908-1950,” in the Spring of 2006 and is currently preparing her preliminary fields. In her spare time she knits and reads comic books.

Frederick W. Gibbs: Mr. Gibbs is researching the genre of medieval poison literature and what it can tell us about the overlapping medieval conceptions of poison, drugs, food, and disease. Mr. Gibbs has previously investigated the popularity of medieval astronomy textbooks, with a focus on Sacrobosco's "De Sphaera" and its use in early universities. Mr. Gibbs is also the fantasy chef/owner of Madison's most unpredictable and innovative restaurant, chez frederic, a modest farmhouse in the northern corridor. Drop by for brilliant cuisine and spectacular pyrotechnics.

Andrew Ruis: Andrew’s interests are in the history of American medicine and public health, international health, and ancient science and medicine. His master’s thesis, “Bringing the Laboratory to the Street: The Bacteriological Diagnosis of Diphtheria in Late Nineteenth-Century New York City”, received an Honorable Mention for the Shryock Award of the American Association for the History of Medicine. His dissertation looks at the establishment of nutrition programs for children in twentieth-century America. Andrew hopes to work in health policy after completing his degree, a career that will combine his interest in social history with his love of neckties.

Amrys O. Williams: I am interested in bringing together the history of science and technology and environmental history, as well as understanding urban and rural perspectives on scientific and technological issues. My current project looks at the development of 4-H clubs in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on ideas of modernity and of bodily and environmental health.

Shannon Withycombe: Shannon Withycombe's interests include the history of women's health, history of sexuality and the history of the body. Her dissertation examines the meaning, both linguistically and conceptually, of miscarriage in late nineteenth-century America. She has previously investigated the intersections of motherhood and insanity in the nineteenth-century asylum. Currently, Shannon is involved in seeking out funding opportunities for graduate students in need of new shoes, and is also setting up a contest for the best title of a dissertation on miscarriage. Cash prizes may be available.

Anna Zeide: My interests currently lie in the areas of environmental history and the history of ecology, the history of twentieth century life sciences, the history of science education, and the history of food, biotechnology, and agriculture. And at the end of such a long list, I'm really excited about how all these different areas interact with one another, how science and environmental thinking relate to one another, how the history of science can be used to teach science in schools, the role of science in society, people's perceptions of how, why, and by whom science is done, and more!

Medical History & Bioethics
1300 University Avenue, Room 1135
Madison, WI 53706-1532