“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...
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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 |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 2023-12-31T10:07:13+01:00 “A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” Healey, Jenna 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072/53811616/jrad072.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences ISSN 0022-5045 1468-4373 Geriatrics and Gerontology History journal-article 2023 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 2023-12-06T08:59:49Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Great Slave Lake Oxford University Press (via Crossref) Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences |
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Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
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English |
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Geriatrics and Gerontology History |
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Geriatrics and Gerontology History Healey, Jenna “A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
topic_facet |
Geriatrics and Gerontology History |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Healey, Jenna |
author_facet |
Healey, Jenna |
author_sort |
Healey, Jenna |
title |
“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
title_short |
“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
title_full |
“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
title_fullStr |
“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
title_full_unstemmed |
“A Vile Custom”: The Strange Career of William Osler’s “Professional Notes” |
title_sort |
“a vile custom”: the strange career of william osler’s “professional notes” |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072/53811616/jrad072.pdf |
genre |
Great Slave Lake |
genre_facet |
Great Slave Lake |
op_source |
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences ISSN 0022-5045 1468-4373 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrad072 |
container_title |
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences |
_version_ |
1786839468152455168 |