Monsters

Repost: “Marvels, Monsters, or (Wo)Men?”

Staff Staff projects June 5, 2019June 3, 2019Folklore, Imperfecta, Medievalisms, Monsters, Otherness

Note: This post originally appeared on Tales after Tolkien: Travels in Genre and Medievalism, the blog of the Tales after Tolkien Society, on 21 May 2019.

What is it about monsters that have fascinated us for centuries? From The Odyssey and Beowulf to Dracula and It, stories featuring the monstrous have always captured our imaginations. We are drawn to them, and yet at the same time fear them. In our modern times, so-called ‘monster-of-the-week’ TV shows seem to air on every channel or streaming service. In similar fashion, the images in prodigy books attracted the general public five hundred years ago. By comparing the two, we can get a glimpse of what monsters embody for us.

Imperfecta: Fear, wonder, and science

Staff Happenings, In the museum January 17, 2017February 1, 2017Exhibits, History of medicine, Monsters, Science, Superstition, Teratology

On March 9, 2017, Imperfecta opens in the Mütter Museum, an exhibit curated by the staff of the Historical Medical Library, which will examine in text, image, and specimen how fear, wonder, and science shaped the understanding of abnormal human development.

One facet of this story is how people, laymen and scientists, reacted to new information in a time of discovery and upheaval. Steve Desch, an astrophysicist from the University of Arizona, said, “Humans have a strong instinct to ignore scientific findings, until those discoveries challenge the stories we tell each other about ourselves.” This tendency to ignore earth-shattering discoveries that fundamentally change how humans see themselves is a behavior that is as old as human existence itself. Read more

Special Collections Aren’t For Only Librarians and Archivists

Staff Education and outreach, Happenings December 3, 2015April 18, 2018Archives, Exhibits, Monsters, Outreach, Teaching with primary sources

October and November were busy months for the Historical Medical Library! We launched our blog, announced that our collection of anthropodermic (human skin) books is the largest in the United States, held several impromptu pop-up exhibits, and hosted an Archives Month Philly event.

Our pop-up exhibits have been received with enthusiasm and we love surprising Museum visitors with the opportunity to visit the Library and see our collections. The exhibits in October were focused on the concept of “monster” as used as a medical term over the past 500 years, and culminated in our Archives Month Philly event, “The Monstrous, Fabled & Factual: Exploring the Meaning of ‘Monster,’ 1500-1900.” (You can read our previous post about Archives Month here.) The exhibits in November displayed our “Favorite Things.”

This year was our first time participating in Archives Month Philly. It was fantastic to invite everyone, show off our collections, and talk about them with our peers. We feel like our Library has been “hidden” for so long – especially to the general public – and Archives Month was the perfect opportunity to show people that we exist and have interesting collections!

On Archives, the Monstrous, and the Medical

Staff Education and outreach, From our researchers, Happenings October 5, 2015April 18, 2018Archives, Exhibits, Human abnormalities, Monsters, Outreach, Scholarly contributions

Did you know that October is American Archives Month? Each October since 2006, archives and special collections across the United States throw open their doors and show off the amazing “stuff” (Yes, that IS a technical term!) in their collections while educating the public about what archivists do; why archives are important to society’s past, present, and future; and how these materials are made accessible to anyone who wishes to use them. You can check out some of the great events planned for Archives Month Philly here.