The Edge of Silence: A History of Fanciful Deafness Fads

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

12-1pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

~ Department of Medicine Grand Rounds ~

Jaipreet Virdi, PhD

Assistant Professor of History, University of Delaware

Healing fads thrive on spectacle and fascination, fueled by the media’s obsession with sensational stories and charismatic celebrities undergoing extraordinary treatments. These fads promise a cure and promote the belief that no matter how implausible or dangerous, any cure for a stigmatized condition is worthwhile if it can promise hope. This talk focuses on the history of twentieth-century medical fads for deafness that obtained legitimacy within American medical circles, including magnetism, chiropractic adjustment, and osteopathy. By appealing to the emotional vulnerability of patients and offering optimism, these fads gained prominence—even when their benefits fell short of expected outcomes. Contact Tiffany Rocco (roccotp@upmc.edu) if you would like to attend.

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

6-7:15pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

~ Reynolds Society Lecture ~

Recording of evening lecture

In the evening, Professor Virdi presented "Negotiating Normalcy: Deafness Cures in American History," based on her book, Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History (University of Chicago, 2020). She is a specialist in the history of medicine, disability studies, and the history of technologies such as hearing aids. See her website for a Curriculum Vitae and current work.

The C.F. Reynolds Medical History Society thanks the University of Pittsburgh Center for Bioethics and Health Law for its generous support of the continuing relevance of medical history in our world. 

Defining and Treating Heart Disease: A History

Dr. Arnold Meshkov, a Philadelphia-area cardiologist who has published a book on the history of the science and technology around myocardial infarction (heart attack) was the featured speaker in February.

His University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine Grand Rounds talk is entitled "Catheterization of the Heart: From Self-Experimentation to Angioplasty." It will take place from 12-1pm on Tuesday, February 22, on Teams. Please reach out to the Department of Medicine if you would like to attend.

His C.F. Reynolds Medical History Society talk entitled "The Cholesterol Odyssey: Russian Rabbits to mRNA technology" took place from 6-7:15pm the same evening, Tuesday, February 22. You can watch the recorded lecture here.

To learn more about his book, Chasing the Widowmaker: The History of the Heart Attack Epidemic (2021), click the title.

Do you need disability accommodations to participate? Please email us at least 1 week in advance so that we can do our best to arrange for an ASL interpreter, screen captions, visual description, a transcript, etc.

Professor Jaipreet Virdi has had to postpone her lectures and book discussion on deafness cures in the history of medicine that were scheduled for February 2022. We look forward to welcoming her, perhaps in person, in February 2023. You can register to attend those events when the new times are announced closer to the date.

What is the Sound of Happiness? POSTPONED

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

6-7:15pm Eastern Time (US and Canada) CANCELLED

TO BE RESCHEDULED IN FEBRUARY 2023

"Negotiating Normalcy: Deafness Cures in American History"

Jaipreet Virdi, PhD (History, University of Delaware)

This lecture is based on Dr. Virdi's recent book Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History (University of Chicago, 2020), in which she combines historical research with personal memoir. She is a specialist in the history of medicine, disability studies, and the history of technologies such as hearing aids.

Dr. Viridi will give the annual Reynolds Society Grand Rounds for the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine at noon on the same day; contact the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine if you are interested in joining that talk via Teams.

At 4pm on Tuesday, Dr. Virdi will join the University of Pittsburgh Science, Technology, and Society interest group for a book discussion on Zoom. If you would like to participate, please contact the Society at cfreynoldsmhs@gmail.com for the link. Plus, we will reimburse you for purchasing the book!