HISTORY as Today's News

In the late 1960s, when science and medicine in many ways were at the height of their power, the very structure of professional authority came under question. The calm of the academy was disturbed by the civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements, and by demands for environmental protection, occupational safety, and reproductive rights, as the younger generation declared its disenchantment with the status quo.

In this context, medical historians who had been trained in the burgeoning graduate programs of the sixties reached for a broader relevance. Emulating the scholarly standards of their mentors, they also nurtured an ideal of political engagement and sought out new audiences. They began to articulate a public relevance for the history of medicine by addressing medical professionals and policy makers, testifying before public agencies and commissions, appearing in court and in Congress, and interpreting history in popular exhibitions, magazines, films, and public television programs. The history of medicine thus emerged from the academy to become part of today's news.

Allan Brandt, historian of medicine at Harvard University, reproduced these World War II-era posters in his highly regarded social history of venereal disease in the United States.

Allan M. Brandt No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 New York, 1985 NLM Call Number: WC 11 AA1 B8n 1985, figures 16-19 Book

This article is one result of Brandt's collaborative work with colleagues in law, epidemiology and health policy. Brandt also contributed to studies on the same subject organized by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine, the nation's most esteemed health policy advisory body.

Lawrence O. Gostin, Peter S. Arno, and Allan M. Brandt "FDA Regulation of Tobacco Advertising and Youth Smoking: Historical, Social, and Constitutional Perspectives," Journal of the American Medical Association Chicago, February 5, 1997, Volume 277, Number 5, Page 410-411 Copyrighted 1997, American Medical Association NLM Call Number: W1 J221 Journal

Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments Final Report: Executive Summary and Guide to Final Report NLM Call Number: W 20.55 H9 U58a 1995, Title Page Book

Susan Lederer receiving President Clinton's appreciation for her contributions to the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, April 21, 1994 Photograph Courtesy of Susan Lederer

Since its publication, Rosner and Markowitz's Deadly Dust has been introduced in court cases as evidence that manufacturers either "knew" or "should have known" the dangers workers faced in various "dusty trades," particularly sand blasting and granite cutting. A major issue in the cases has been the inadequacy of warnings given to workers. Prior to the lawsuits, only a general warning about the danger of working with silica was placed on the side of bags; since the lawsuits, detailed warnings have become more common.

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz Deadly Dust: Silicosis and the Politics of Occupational Disease in Twentieth-Century America (c) 1991 by Princeton University Press. All rights reserved. NLM Call Number: WF 11 AA1 R8d 1991, Cover Book

This historical monograph helped re-open the silicosis issue for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) of the United States Department of Labor.

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, editors Dying for Work: Worker's Safety and Health in Twentieth-Century America Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1989 NLM Call Number: WA 11 AA1 D93 1987, Cover Book

Dying for Work is a pioneering collection of essays on the occupational health and safety risks facing American workers during this century.