Medicine and literature: Using medical humanities to enrich our professional lives

By — September 2, 2022

The Center for the History of Medicine is pleased to announce the eighth year of Medicine and literature: Using medical humanities to enrich our professional lives. The program will consist of readings and discussions of fictional and non-fictional works that focus on mental illness, starting with “Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father” by Stephen Fried.

Dr. Benjamin Rush signed the Declaration of Independence, edited Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”, toured Europe as Benjamin Franklin’s protege, became John Adams’ confidant, and was appointed Washington’s surgeon general.

Fried’s book focuses on Dr. Rush’s achievements as a medical pioneer whose insights reformed and revolutionized the treatment of mental illness as a disease.

The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18, 2022, 6:30-8 p.m. with moderator Peter Kastor, the Samuel K. Eddy professor of history and American culture studies.

Slots fill up quickly! To register or for more information, please contact Tina Hoffman at tina.hoffman@wustl.edu.

Stay tuned: We are still selecting other book titles and dates for future sessions.

This free program is open to the faculty and staff of Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and the Goldfarb School of Nursing.