Medical societies and scientific culture in nineteenth-century Belgium /Joris Vandendriessche.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Front matter; Dedication; Contents; Figures; Preface; Introduction; Sociability and medical reform; Debate and controversy; Publishing and editing; Networks and collections; Expertise and advice; Celebrating and commemorating; A new scientific landscape; Conclusions; Select bibliography; Index

'This book offers the first comprehensive study of nineteenth-century medical societies as scientific institutions. It analyses how medical men gathered to share, discuss, evaluate, publish and even celebrate their studies. When physicians met in medical societies, they engaged in a community with specific practices, rules and manners. This book studies these practices and reveals the formal and subtle ways in which shared norms were set. The book reveals the publishing procedures of medical journals, the tradition of oratory in academies, the networks of anatomists, the construction of 'expertise' in public health and the commemoration of famous physicians such as Andreas Vesalius and Joseph Guislain' --Back cover.

This book offers the first comprehensive study of nineteenth-century medical societies as scientific institutions. It analyses how physicians gathered to share, discuss, evaluate, publish and even celebrate their studies, uncovering the codes of conduct that underpinned these activities. The book discusses the publishing procedures of medical journals, the tradition of oratory in academies, the networks of anatomists and the commemorations of famous physicians such as Vesalius. Its setting is nineteenth-century Belgium, a young nation state in which the freedoms of press and association were constitutionally established. The book shows how Belgian physicians participated in a civil society shaped by the values of social engagement, polite debate and a free press. Given its broad focus on science, sociability and citizenship, it will be of interest to all those seeking to understand the position of science in nineteenth-century society.

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