The Department of Communication is co-sponsoring, on Thursday, October 24, a presentation by Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris. Dr. Fitzharris (PhD, Oxford University) is a medical historian who authored the book, The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine. Lister—for whom Listerine was later named—persisted against a medical establishment wherein washing one’s hands and instruments was not only ignored but openly ridiculed. His research led to the antiseptic standards we take for granted today. A rising star, Dr. Fitzharris has appeared on the History Channel, the Smithsonian Channel, the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, and she produces her own YouTube series called Under the Knife.
What’s in it for communication majors? Fitzharris is an expert storyteller. The wide—reaching strands of her reading and research are woven carefully into a coherent narrative that not only paints vivid pictures—sometimes really vivid–of what mid-1800s medicine was like, but also shows liberal arts students how Lister embraced his curiosity about the world, championed research and data as his sources of truth, and found the courage to persist in testing his ideas even when the larger medical culture dismissed him.
Dr. Fitzharris also has a Holland connection: her father owns Hops on 8th Street. Her talk begins at 7 p.m., in the Jack Miller Center for the Musical Arts. Admission is free and open to the public, but all are encouraged to register.