An Emory University historian uncovers the medical knowledge produced in convents, conservatories, and princely courts.
‘Secrets’ in the Convent: Nuns and Medical Culture in Late Renaissance Italy
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015, 4 p.m.
The McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion
Sharon Strocchia, a professor of history at Emory University, will present her research on Nov. 17 on the networks of care forged by 16th-century Florentine women in their development of early medical practices. Her talk will also touch on the restrictions that women faced as they pursued healthcare in the Renaissance.
Strocchia’s forthcoming book, “Cultures of Care: Women, Knowledge and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy,” investigates how “increased demand for healthcare services and a renewed emphasis on preventive health opened new opportunities for women’s involvement with Italian medical provisioning.” Strocchia observes that “as apothecaries, household experts, hospital nurses, and charitable caregivers working within increasingly coordinated networks of care, female practitioners not only delivered crucial services but also helped transform convents, conservatories and princely courts into important sites of health literacy and knowledge production.”
Strocchia is completing “Cultures of Care” this year as a fellow at North Carolina’s National Humanities Center. Her earlier book, “Nuns and Nunneries in Renaissance Florence,” won the 2010 Marraro Prize from the American Catholic Historical Association for the best book in Italian history
The interdisciplinary nature of Strocchia’s recent work will appeal to those interested in history, public health, Italian studies, religion, and gender studies alike. It is free and open to the public.
This event is sponsored by the Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society and the Department of History and Geography.