The Thackray Museum of Medicine is excited to announce the return of their annual ‘Insights’ lecture series this October. This engaging series will feature guest academics discussing the evolution of medicine from various historical perspectives. Delving into the fascinating realm of medical and healthcare history, these lectures will uncover the social and scientific influences that have shaped the field.
Thackray Museum of Medicine is announcing the return of their popular ‘Insights’ lectures. The annual series of talks will be held at the Museum this coming October, inviting a range of guest academics to talk about the development of medicine from various historical perspectives.
Lectures will explore into the weird and wonderful world of medicine and healthcare, looking into the social and scientific influences behind its development. A handful of academics invited to speak at the Thackray Museum this year includes Dr. Kersten Hall, Prof. Sanjoy Battacharya, Dr. Stella Butler and Dr Jonny Geber. Full details of speakers and their talks can be found at the bottom of this press release.
The announcement of the new ‘Insights’ series comes just before the Museum Heritage Open Days festival, in which the public are invited to delve deeper into the history of Thackray’s iconic Victorian building. Taking place in September, Heritage Open Days is England’s largest community led festival of history and culture. For their events, the Thackray volunteers will be giving you a taste of what life was like in the Museum when it once stood as a Victorian workhouse in 1861, and as a 1951 WW1 war hospital.
Exploring the good and the bad, these in depth talks piece together fragments of history pulled together by heritage volunteers, and bring to life the intriguing, and sometimes disturbing, past that lays behind the building’s walls. You can hear of the tales of men embarking on harrowing journeys for treatment during the first world war, what life was life like on the wards, and of some of the inmates who lived in the workhouses – from a destitute dance instructor to the criminal dubbed the ‘Terror of the Workhouse’.
To further delve into the history and unexplored stories of the Museum, Thackray have also announced a brand new Culture Club Late, a free evening of workshops, talks, exhibitions, food, music and workshops curated by young people from around East Leeds. In collaboration with Sable Radio, this weekly youth club, for people aged 16-21 from East Leeds, focuses on exploring healthcare and medical histories through creative media. Utilising creative mediums, from photography to podcasts, members of Culture Club gain experience and skills that will transfer to real roles in the creative industries, whilst also learning more about the history of medicine and shaping how we tell its story at the museum. Join them at this special event – free for all ages – as they explore the hidden stories of Leeds heritage that have previously been overlooked and under-celebrated.
Both the ‘Insights’ lectures and Heritage Open Day events bring new and thought provoking perspectives to the museum and the topics it aims to teach. With the Heritage Open Day events free to book, and the ‘Insights’ tickets starting at £10, this is the perfect way to boost your knowledge and have a whole lot of fun.
For more information on booking, you can visit the Thackray Museum of Medicine’s website HERE.
