Reading Abbott
Until 30 November 2024
Osler LIbrary -Ěý 3655 Sir William Osler
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About Reading Abbott
Maude Abbott loved to read. This exhibition explores both what she read and ways we canĚýreadĚýher life story. While many publications on the famous doctor have focused on the barriers she faced in a male-dominated profession, this exhibition places Abbott among her favourite authors, texts, and locations. At its heart are Abbott’s five diaries. These precious journals record her daily activities, meetings, travels, meals, health, friends, books, and even her hair appointments.
“Reading Abbott” showcases a wide array of primary sources on Abbott’s life. The exhibit is arranged under four thematic headings, exploring her relationships (“Osler + Abbott”), mobility (“Abbott on the Move”), reading (“Abbott reads”), and writing (“Abbott writes”).ĚýCurated by architectural historian Annmarie Adams, “Reading Abbott” invites feminist and spatial readings of Abbott's legacy.
“Reading Abbott” is sponsored by the Department of Social Studies of Medicine, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
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“ ...that flower of our calling—the cultivated general practitioner.
May this be the destiny of a large majority of you! You cannot reach any better position in a community; the family doctor is the man behind the gun, who does our effective work.
That his life is hard and exacting; that he is underpaid and overworked; that he has but little time for study and less for recreation—these are the blows that may give finer temper
to his steel, and bring out the nobler elements in his character.”
William Osler, “The Student Life,” 1905, p. 25
Osler’s words, some to the graduating medical school class of 91ÉçÇř and included in a 1905 essay titled “The Student Life”, exemplify the respect he had for country-based family physicians. This exhibit shows some of the diagnostic and therapeutic instruments and materia medica from the Maude Abbott Medical Museum that such practitioners might have used during the early to mid-20th century. A selection of the many books contained in the Osler Library that describe their medical and personal experiences during this time is also displayed.
Ying Chen, Rick Fraser and Mary Hague-Yearl