Recently, literary scholars have demonstrated how the works of William Shakespeare can serve as a fantastic tool for teaching and […]
Wear a Mask or Go to Jail
In the fall of 1918, seven young people were photographed wearing masks lined up near a railroad track in Mill […]
“Better…at the Bottom of the Sea”?: Affect, Agency, and the Archive at Holloway Sanatorium
In August 1889, an English woman named Charlotte S. experienced a depressive episode marked by religious delusions. Convinced there “was […]
The American Murderer: Hookworm Eradication Among “Our Native Born Whites”
In the United States and around the world, public health has taken center stage in recent years to investigate how […]
The Mifepristone Case Hinges on Whether or not Pregnancy Should be Considered an “Illness” – What Can We Learn When We Look for Medical Precedent?
In November 2022, a group of physicians filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to revoke […]
Too Young for the Hardship of Service: Age and Military Fitness in the US Civil War
In 1863, US Surgeon General William Hammond published a Treatise on Hygiene, perhaps the most influential medical text of the […]
Pennyroyal, Mifepristone, and the Long History of Medication Abortions
Around midnight on September 16, 1866, Dr. W. A. Wilcox of Saint Louis, Missouri, was called to the home of […]
Bags O’ Glass and Bayonet Eyes: Toy Safety and Consumer Protection, 1968–1976
On December 11, 1976, Saturday Night Live aired its first “Consumer Probe” sketch on the sale of unsafe toys. Drawing […]
Gender-Neutral Sex Toys: Turning Gender Dysphoria in the Bedroom into Gender Euphoria
Nestled amidst Allen Ginsberg’s dildo, some vanilla-flavored underwear that offers sexually-transmitted infection (STI) protection, and a Braille issue of Playboy […]
Reclaiming Richard III’s Disability
It’s been 10 years since archaeologists discovered Richard III’s skeleton under a parking lot in Leicester, England. But historians haven’t […]
