Making Sense of Medicine – new book

Making Sense of Medicine. Material Culture and the Reproduction of Medical Knowledge, edited by John Nott and Anna Harris, was published in November 2022. It is an incredible collection of essays reflecting on the relationship between materials and the reproduction of medical knowledge. Materials range from cigarette papers used to practise vascular surgery to chalkboard to gloves for pelvic exams. Examples are both contemporary and historical, and from different parts of the world.

The book is beautifully produced (thank you Intellect Books), and wonderfully edited by John Nott and Anna Harris. The volume emerged from the ERC-funded project led by Anna Harris, called Making Clinical Sense, A Comparative Study of how Doctors Learn in Digital Times.

I had the pleasure of contributing two short chapters exploring themes that recur throughout the volume. One is about invisible work and the other about objectivity, art and images.