A4. RoundtableAbsent and Present: Children’s Perspectives in the History of Medicine
Chair: Heather Dron, University of California, Los Angeles Sandra Eder, University of California, Berkeley Jessica Martucci, University of Pennsylvania Jason Chernesky, Food and Drug Administration History Office
This roundtable brings together historians who work at the intersections of the history of medicine, science, childhood, race, gender, and disability. While the history of pediatrics and health have been productive historical fields, calls to include children’s perspectives have not animated the history of science and medicine in quite the same way, despite Roy Porter’s famous call for more medical history from the “patient’s perspective.”
How have those studying the history of medicine and science worked to connect these fields and address the limitations of archival resources? In what ways do categories like race, gender, class, and disability shape children’s experiences with medicine and their representation in historical records? How have scholars expanded official archives to better reflect children from diverse backgrounds as historical figures? How can we uncover the perspectives of children from the past, moving beyond the adults who often shaped their lives? What does a child-centered approach look like in the history of medicine, and how can we recognize children as active historical actors?
To address these questions and themes, this roundtable offers the reflections from five historians of medicine. Sandra Eder examines pediatric hospital records of children with intersex traits to reveal children’s experiences in the clinic. She raises questions about patients’ ‘voices’ and the narratives surrounding medical care. Jessica Martucci employs oral histories, disability memoirs, and writings by pediatric nurses to highlight the voices and agency of children in the context of hospitalization after World War II. Jason M. Chernesky examines private patient records of predominantly Latinx or Black children who died from HIV/AIDS, raising critical questions about erasure, ethics, and the historian's racial positionality. Heather Dron reflects on how we can account for the missing narratives of children, including those with disabilities and adolescents who experienced eugenic sterilizations in California. What are the ethics and obligations of historians who seek to give voice to past trauma?
