A Semester of Reflection

Going into this class, I had a typical idea of what we'd be studying. I expected Frankenstein and Burke & Hare to be literary foci, as they were, but I had no idea I'd walk away with knowledge on things like revolutionary medical operations and discoveries of the 19th century. From having no interest whatsoever in a medicinal or medical science field before the semester, I honestly can say I found the majority of readings far from boring. Some were sometimes too descriptive for my reading tastes, but the material was usually always enlightening; it was also a great reminder of how grateful I am for living a healthy life in the 21st century. I'm glad I was introduced to such random (in my opinion) information and concepts. 

The first Unit, where we focused on early anatomical discovery and famous serial killers of the 19th century, was definitely some gruesome literature to analyze. I still found Burke & Hare to still be visually entertaining, but there were times where I'd stop reading and just ask myself, "Why am I spending so much time reading about death and corpses and brutality right now?" Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I had read prior to this course, but analyzing Jekyll/Hyde's behavior and his battle with self duality highlighted the creepy yet genius talent of Stevenson. If I took away one last thing from the first unit it would be our discussion on the attitudes towards anatomy and cadavers. It was unnerving, even though in the past and no longer practiced in today's societies, to read how casually a body, a deceased life, was handled and mutilated for the betterment of medical advancement. A person dies in the late 1800s and instead of commemorating their presence, their body is stuffed in a bag (or dragged from 6 feet of dirt) and shipped off to some curious mind like Dr. Knox. What a nightmarish crossover between anatomical experimentation and criminology this time turned out to be. Thankfully, ethics and consciences evolved.

The Astonishing Life of Octavia Nothing, Vol. 1: The Pox Party in particular was a refreshing read. It still incorporated the focus on medical criminality yet left out the heinous subjects of suffocation, rusty tools, blood and pain. Mr. Gitney and co. illustrated how scientists no longer needed to be the men sawing limbs off in the privacy of their basement to be considered mad. Racial eugenics was an equally sick form of medical criminality. I found the Nazi Medical Experiments from Bad Medicine especially hard to fathom, for it boiled down to the ENORMOUS lack of empathy for other human beings and their rights to life on earth. The actionsof the German doctors involved in the experiments were (and forever will be) despicable. From learning more about the cases and the victims, I hold stronger regards for both ethical medical practices and patient consent. The Hippocratic Oath was a great supplement to this unit on ethical research and is a document that should touches on the ideas of medical respect and preservation that should still be abided by today.

I think our last unit of "Madness or Genius?"takes the cake for most interesting. There are a lot of people who consider modern medical research as potential when there are just as many that fear more discovery will threaten society and spiral our ethical limitations out of control. Stiff was what I enjoyed most from this course because it exposed all things taboo that are usually swept under the rug of science. I've read things in Stiff that I know I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I don't know— what I do know is that Mary Roach taught me all I need to know concerning the life of a cadaver. It was interesting to read how some doctors tolerate working with lifeless bodies, and it prompted the idea of how dehumanization was just as prevalent in the 1860s as it is now in a morgue or dissection room.

Kendal Wronski