Insights into Little Known Medical Secrets – Upcoming Thackray Museum of Medicine Insights Lectures

Ever wondered about the behind the scenes of medicine throughout the 19th and 20th century? Want to know more about the work Florence Nightingale did? Or how prisons were used to perform population wide experiments to determine if the inmates had a genetic disposition to criminal acts?

Our local Thackray Museum of Medicine is about to bring back their annual “Insights Lectures” commencing on November 4th. Their expert speakers aim to spark medical debate within the audience and reveal wonderous truths found nowhere else. To encourage us to re-assess our healthcare needs, the talks will explore the intricate details of medical evolution to expand our understanding about why things are the way they are.

I spoke to Laura Sellers, the curator of the lectures. She highlights the importance of their content in a world full of abundant information. She encourages that we should push ourselves to understand where things come from. Let’s consider sources; should we blindly follow the advice of “experts”, just because they hold a position of power? Where did this information stem from? Is it opinion or fact?

The first of the lectures, led by Laura, examine Florence Nightingale’s revolutionary approach in changing hospitals for the better and whether criminality is an innate human characteristic or if it can be changed? In early prison history, you may be surprised to hear that prison populations were used as experimental samples to test this!

The museum is just a short bus ride from the city into Harehills; if you wish to know more, look no further than our November print issue for a further article, and make sure you take this opportunity to engage with accurate and insightful information, if you truly want to understand what is going on around us. Whats even better is that students go free to all Insights Lectures – to redeem this, just contact groups@thackraymuseum.org to book your place now.