New AHRC Research Network launched: The Ethics of Medical Photography: Past, Present, and Future
How can we view and work with historical medical photographs in an ethical way?
Researchers at the University of Leeds and De Montfort University have secured funding to launch a new AHRC Research Network to generate new theoretical and practical resources to research, curate, and disseminate historical medical photographs in an ethical way.
Much of the debate regarding the ethics of looking at difficult or sensitive photographs has been framed as ‘choosing not to look’ (Crane, 2008; Sontag, 2003), limiting the public exposure to the images as an ethical stance. This approach, however, goes against current efforts from archives and museums to widen the access to their historical collections. To balance the ethical needs of heritage institutions, researchers and the public, this network will move beyond the ‘looking/ not looking dilemma’ (Möller, 2009) to ask:
- how does our understanding of the ethics of medical photography, and of medical photography itself, change when we focus on race, disability, gender, class and age rather than consent and anonymity?
- how can we widen access to early medical photographs while respecting the dignity of both historical subjects and present viewers?
Over a period of two years (2024-26) this multidisciplinary network will bring together historians, ethicists, archivists, heritage scholars, artists, photographers, social scientists, and the public, for a series of academic, curatorial, and public engagement workshops, the publication of a journal special issue, and an online exhibition.
Network launch event
The launch seminar takes place online on Tuesday 3 September 2024. Beatriz Pichel (De Montfort University, project PI), Katherine Rawling (University of Leeds, project Co-I), Toni Hardy (Wellcome Collection) and Andreas Pantazatos (University of Cambridge) will introduce the network and its aims as well as discuss some of the main ethical dilemmas that historians, heritage specialists and collections managers are facing in relation to medical photography.
This is an online event and attendance is free. Find out more, and book your place, on the event post.
Find out more
Learn more about the network, including how to join the mailing list, on the project webpage.
Further reading
Susan A. Crane, ‘Choosing not to look: Representation, Repatriation, and Holocaust Atrocity Photography’, History & Theory 47.4 (2008), 309-330.
Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others (Penguin, 2019; first publ. Hamish Hamilton, 2003).
Frank Möller, ‘The looking/not looking dilemma’, Review of International Studies, 25.4 (2009), 781-94.
Image Credit:
William E. Gray, A hand held over a dark mark on a forearm, to demonstrate the manual treatment of ulcers. Photograph. Wellcome Collection. Source: Wellcome Collection. License: Public Domain Mark.
