CFP Panel on "Technology and Illness since the Nineteenth Century", ICOHTEC 2014, Brasov, Romania
Dear colleagues,
I am looking for participants for a panel titled “‘The
Dark Side of
Technology’: Technology and Illness since the Nineteenth
Century”, to be submitted to the 41st Symposium of the International Committee
for the History of Technology, Braşov, Romania, 29 July-2 August 2014. More
information about the symposium is available here:
The panel abstract can be found below. My own paper will
discuss mobile phones and their association with cancer and infertility in
contemporary India. The symposium covers all areas of the globe, so I would be
keen to hear from scholars who have engaged with this topic in various
geographical settings. If you are interested, please get in touch with me off
list at amelia.bonea@wuhmo.ox.ac.uk<mailto:amelia.bonea@wuhmo.ox.ac.uk>
by 20 January 2014 at the latest. The paper abstracts should be about 200-350
words; a one-page CV will also be required for the final submission.
Thank you,
Amelia Bonea
*****
PANEL TITLE: ‘The Dark Side of Technology’: Technology
and Illness since the Nineteenth Century
ORGANIZER: Dr. Amelia Bonea (Wellcome Unit for the
History of Medicine, University of Oxford)
ABSTRACT: Technology and medicine are intimately
connected. Particularly since the nineteenth century, technology has often been
hailed as an instrument of progress and modernization and has played a central
role in the development of medical theory and practice, making diseases
recognizable and curable. Yet, the invention and use of technologies has also
been surrounded by scepticism and anxiety, with new technologies often
generating new concerns and risks of disease. This panel will focus not on
technology as a “cure” of disease, but rather on technology as a (potential)
cause of physical and mental illness. We are looking for papers that will
investigate health concerns associated with the proliferation and use of various
technologies, from medical technology such as vaccines and medical devices to
industrial technologies to technologies of transport and communication.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to: epidemics and travel, medical
X-rays and cancer risk, technology and mental health, occupational health
problems, musculoskeletal disorders and technologies of communication. By
examining case studies from a variety of geographical and socio-economic
settings, the panel hopes to stimulate discussion of broader themes such as the
role of technology in creating medical knowledge, risk management and the
ethics of risk, but also to identify common trends and divergences in health
concerns associated with technology over the last two centuries.