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*with apologies for cross-posting*
Dear Colleagues,
I have great pleasure in sending out this call for proposals for a new Routledge series 'Medicine and Healing
of Antiquity'. If you have any queries or ideas, do not hesitate to contact me.
With best wishes
Laurence Totelin
The History of ancient systems of medicine and healing is one of the fastest growing fields of research within Classical studies, and one that has attracted the attention of scholars working on ancient India, China, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. It is a field where new discoveries are made on a regular basis, and one where innovative and provocative scholarly approaches flourish. A growing number of universities offer courses on Ancient Medicine, as well Medical Humanities courses in which the history of ancient medicine plays an important role. ‘Medicine and Healing of Antiquity’ is a series designed to offer accessible introductions to various aspects of medicine and healing in antiquity, without neglecting the reception of ancient medical ideas in the early modern and modern periods, as well as issues linked to post-colonial historiography. The volumes will discuss subjects that were identified by the ancients but also resonate with modern medical practitioners: anatomy, surgery, dietetics, pharmacology, physiology, temple healing, gynaecology, paediatrics, ethics and deontology, and veterinary medicine. These works make use of a variety of sources (literary, papyrological, epigraphic, and archaeological), display awareness of the current historiographical debates, and suggest possible new topics of research and interdisciplinary collaborations.
The volumes will provide clear introductions that will appeal to historians of medicine, science and technology; classicists and other ancient historians; and medical students with an interest in the history of their discipline. By making available material that is often difficult to locate, the volumes will be useful as core titles for courses on Ancient Medicine; survey courses on the History of Medicine; and Medical Humanities courses, which are offered to students in Medical Schools, Schools of Pharmacy, Schools of Nursing, and Veterinary Schools. However, by providing historiographical and methodological insights, the titles will also appeal to scholars who need a handy introduction to a particular area of ancient medicine and healing.
Volumes will typically be contributed by one or two authors and comprise some 80,000 words. Authors will be encouraged to devise their own structure, which need not be chronological. It is hoped that each volume will have a chapter on the reception of ancient medical ideas in the early modern and/or modern periods.