Changes coming to Books by Mail: Starting in fall 2025, Books by Mail items will only be shipped to addresses in the contiguous United States 50 miles or further from campus. We will make exceptions for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. Learn more. 

Fisher restoration: Fisher Fine Arts Library is open and operating normally during ongoing exterior work. Find more details about this important restoration project.

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Barbara Bates Center Seminar Series

Organized by the Barbara Bates Center for the History of Nursing in collaboration with the Penn Libraries, this series brings scholars to Penn’s campus for engaging talks on important topics in healthcare.

Black and white photograph of five nurses browsing books around a table in a library space
Oct 23
Open to the Public

Rickets in the History of Medicine: Bit Player or “A-Lister”?

The history of rickets is deeply intertwined with the emergence of modern medicine. This talk with Christian Warren, PhD, will demonstrate that, time and again, rickets was a player in important chapters of that drama.

  • October 23, 2024
  • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Gershwind & Bennett Family Collaborative Classroom, Holman Biotech Commons (Main Level) and Online
Headshot
Feb 28
Open to the Public

Critical Healthcare Humanities: Social Sciences and Humanities as Interventions in Healthcare Research, Training, and Practice

Now more than ever, we require skillful human-centric approaches to healthcare education, research, and practice. Join the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing for a hybrid seminar on critical healthcare humanities with Britt Dahlberg, PhD.

  • February 28, 2024
  • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Gershwind & Bennett Family Collaborative Classroom, Holman Biotech Commons (Main Level) and Online
Portrait photograph of Dr. Britt Dahlberg
Mar 13
Open to the Public

Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in American History

Join the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing for a hybrid seminar on disability, Deafness, and medical technologies with Jaipreet Virdi, PhD.

  • March 13, 2024
  • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Gershwind & Bennett Family Collaborative Classroom, Holman Biotech Commons, and online
Portrait of Jai Virdi
Apr 10
Open to the Public

Prescribing Reproductive Rights: Pills and the Politics of Family Planning, 1960 - 2024

Join the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing for a seminar that explores the history of fertility control drugs relating to questions of side effects, prescription status, patient education, and access, with Kelly O’Donnell, PhD.  

  • April 10, 2024
  • 4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Gershwind & Bennett Family Collaborative Classroom, Holman Biotech Commons (Main Level) and Online
Portrait of Kelly S. O’Donnell

Image Credit: Mercy Douglass Library, Class of 1959, Mercy-Douglas Hospital Collection, The Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing.

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