Class Description
Between the founding of Fort Dearborn and the dawn of modern transplantation, Chicago transformed from a frontier outpost into one of the world's great surgical centers. This course uses the history of surgery as a lens through which to explore the broader history of Chicago, examining how the city and the surgical profession shaped one another through war, epidemics, immigration, industrialization, disasters, hospitals, architecture, scientific discovery, and the organizations and publications that influenced surgical practice around the world.
Using archival materials, contemporary accounts, photographs, architecture, and historic maps, participants will trace Chicago's evolution from its earliest settlement through the rise of the railroads and Union Stock Yards, the Great Chicago Fire, Haymarket, the city's great hospitals, medical schools, professional organizations, and publishing houses, and the emergence of modern trauma care and transplantation, examining the people, places, institutions, and innovations that established Chicago as one of the world's great surgical cities.
Matthew Carmichael is the Managing Editor of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. He lives in Portage Park.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- Instructor-Distributed Materials
First Assignment
- History of Medicine and Surgery and Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. Published by the Chicago Medical Society / The Biographical Publishing Corporation, 1922, Pages 13–23.
A Brief Syllabus
- From Frontier Outpost to Medical City (Prehistory–1871)
- Rebuilding a Surgical Capital (1871–1915)
- Building Modern Surgery (1913–1966)
- Chicago's Global Surgical Legacy (1966–Present)
Cost and Registration
4 Sessions, $220 ($198 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($220), Community Supported ($205), and Sponsor ($235). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.
RegisterThe views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.
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