Anton and Rose Zverina Lecture 2025
The Incomplete Archive: Reconstructing Black Medical Education in the Twentieth Century with Dr. Adam Biggs
October 7th, 2025, 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Operating room, Forest City Hospital, ca. 1960, Forest City Hospital Collection. Dittrick Medical History Center, CWRU
This lecture explores how racial politics shaped early-twentieth century reforms in medical education and examines the impact of these reforms on the lives and careers of African American doctors throughout the twentieth century. Dr. Biggs will also discuss the challenges of identifying and accessing primary sources that document the experience of African American physicians in training.
Adam Biggs, PhD.
Adam Biggs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research explores how early-twentieth century Black doctors used professional medicine to advocate for racial justice and examines how understandings of academic and professional merit are shaped by racial politics. His current book project titled, Strange Cures: Black Doctors, Harlem Hospital, and the New Negro in American Medicine, 1919-1935, examines the role Black doctors played in the desegregation of Harlem Hospital. Prior to joining RPI, Dr. Biggs held postdoctoral positions at Rutgers University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He has also served on the faculty at the University of South Carolina Lancaster and Claflin University. Professor Biggs received his doctorate from the American Studies program at Harvard University.
Register for this free online event
Link to Forest City Hospital Collection