Suggested Research Topics - Women in Medicine: Careers Bound by Gender
Like many professions, medicine was (and is) a field in which the gender of the practitioner often determined the trajectory and bounds of one's career. In general positions of power were held by men and women were relegated to subservient positions (i.e., men were doctors/teachers/professionals; women were nurses/midwives). This generalization must admit exceptions, especially since many female patients/clients were not comfortable with male doctors examining them. Historians have calculated that between 5-10% of medical students were women from 1890 to 1960. Fairly early on, the UM medical school accepted women as students with only a few restrictions on their education. Because of this open-mindedness on the part of the University, women came to Michigan for their training.
In what ways was the medical education of women different from that of men at Michigan? Did the women face obstacles not placed in front of the men? What sort of obstacles did women face in their medical careers? How were these obstacles overcome? Were they inherent in the system or a result of peer reaction? What impact did these problems have?
Examples of Primary Source Collections and Other Resources:
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Secondary sources
- Morantz-Sanchez, Regina Markell, Sympathy and Science (1989)
- Sicherman, Barbara, Alice Hamilton: A Life in Letters (1987)
- Walsh, Mary Roth, Doctors Wanted, No Women Need Apply (1977)
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Archival and other primary resources
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Notebooks and correspondence of female medical students at the
University of Michigan
- Sara C. Buckley, 1881-1941
- Mary E. Clark, 1875-1885
- Anna M. Cooke, 1902-1903
- Cora L. Stitt, 1893-1895 (homeopath)
- Eliza Mosher, Boxes 1-2 (papers of UM Dean of Women)
- Bertha Van Hoosen, 13 folders and Petticoat Surgeon (1947)
- Bertha Selmon, Box 1 (Correspondence, Michigan Women's Medical History, and Medical Women Nat'l Association)
- Mary McKibbon Harper, (Scrapbook on women in AMA)
- Elizabeth C. Crosby, Boxes 1-2 (early correspondence)
Caveats
Thin in terms of actual primary source material, but the strength and pertinence of secondary sources make this viable. A competent and motivated student will be able to find many ways in which to make the few sources illuminate the gender issues. I expect further evidence on women facing obstacles in medicine could be generated. I trust also that your judgment on the Van Hoosen papers as a very rich source will be borne out.
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Notebooks and correspondence of female medical students at the
University of Michigan
In an effort to encourage creative thinking about possible research topics for students unfamiliar with archives and their inevitable complexities, archivists and student employees of the Bentley Historical Library have authored "suggested research topics ." The purpose of these is not to define a topic but rather to stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Bentley Library are particularly strong.