Institute for the History of Medicine

Research focuses on the practice and theory of medicine in the 18th to 21st centuries. Teaching aims to contribute to the critical reflection and understanding of contemporary medicine from a historical perspective. The Institute houses major collections.

To the Institute’s website

Profile

• Teaching students of medicine at the Universities of Bern, Basel and Fribourg, master students at the pharmacy and the biomedical engineering program as well as history students at the Faculty of Humanities, and health professions students at the Bern University of Applied Sciences
• Small institute with 1 professor, 1 assistant, and further scientists in SNSF-funded projects
• Rich library (100,000 vols.), archive documenting local and Swiss medicine (paper and digital), large collection of medical objects from the University of Bern and the Bern University Hospital
• Research on medical theory and practice 18th to 20th century, Albrecht von Haller and the 18th century Republic of Letters, history of medical ethics, history of public health

External Partners

Institute of History, University of Bern; Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich; Institute of Medical Humanities, University of Lausanne; Institute of Medical Humanities, University of Fribourg; Institute for the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf; Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine, Erlangen

Grants

• Swiss National Science Foundation grant “Online-edition of Albrecht von Haller’s book reviews and letters: knowledge production in the network of the emerging scientific community” (10FE15-198247)
• Swiss National Science Foundation grant “Governing by values: on the history of medical ethics and bioethics in Switzerland” (No. 100011_184880)