“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes”
Abstract: In 1882, William Osler wrote “Professional Notes among the Indian Tribes about Great Slave Lake, NWT,” a fantastical essay that purportedly described the sexual and obstetric customs of Indigenous peoples residing in the Canadian Northwest. Originally prepared as a prank, “Professional Not...
| Published in: | Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2023
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072/53811616/jrad072.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract: In 1882, William Osler wrote “Professional Notes among the Indian Tribes about Great Slave Lake, NWT,” a fantastical essay that purportedly described the sexual and obstetric customs of Indigenous peoples residing in the Canadian Northwest. Originally prepared as a prank, “Professional Notes,” along with Osler’s alter ego Egerton Yorrick Davis, became an elaborate inside joke that circulated widely among the medical elite for decades after Osler’s death. In this essay, I trace the history and afterlife of “Professional Notes,” considering both the colonial context of its creation as well as the reasons for its enduring popularity. I argue that “Professional Notes” both reflected and reinforced the anti-Indigenous racism that permeated the medical profession, particularly during its consolidation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. I also make a methodological argument for the study of joking within the history of medicine, presenting “Professional Notes” as a powerful example of the role humour has played in shaping medical culture. |
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