Event Description
Organized public health got its start in the United States by rooting out and regulating “nuisances,” those elements of the environment that were understood to be detrimental to health. Nuisances included such things as marshy ground, standing water, dense smoke, and foul odors—things that citizens could readily identify through their physical senses. As boards of health struggled to keep pace with citizen complaints, they began considering the “sensitiveness” of the complaining citizen. When Board members determined that the complaining citizen was overly sensitive or had coarse senses—often because of their gender, race, or class status—Boards of Health did not act on their nuisance complaints. Drawing from the writing of public health reformers and Board of Health officials, this talk will pinpoint the important role that sensitivity played in the development of public health. Beyond the details of these events, the talk argues that we need to consider the history of sensitivity as we continue to develop sensory history.

Attendance
n/a

Registration Link
https://sensesandsensations.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/events/

Call for Papers Information &/or Deadline (in UTC-6)
n/a

Contact
Lena Ferriday
lf16094@bristol.ac.uk

Organization
University of Bristol


Affiliations, if any
University of Bristol Centre for Environmental Humanities