Call for Papers: ‘Out of the Showcase’ – EAMHMS Conference 2016 (Groningen, 28 September – 1 October 2016)

The 18th European Association of Museums of the History of Medical Sciences biennial Congress will be held in Groningen (the Netherlands), 28 September – 1 October 2016, and is jointly hosted between the Universiteitsmuseum, University of Groningen and the University Medical Centre Groningen. The theme for the 2016 Congress is ‘Out of the Showcase’.

EAMHMS is an active global network of curators, scholars and stakeholders with an interest in medical collections. The biennial Congress is a great opportunity to present research within a vibrant forum of debate and discussion, and promote international exchange and collaboration amongst medical history museums. The Association, although nominally European, today attracts participation from around the world and is thus the leading international body of medical museums and collections.

Following the stimulating EAMHMS biennial conferences hosted in Berlin (2012) and London (2014), we cordially invite members of the association, as well as interested scholars and curators from the community of medical history collections and museums, to participate in the next meeting of the organisation in Groningen.

The 2016 Congress will focus on the use of medical history objects and collections beyond the polished realm of museum galleries and displays. It will delve into the new and creative ways of teaching and performing research within our material medical cultures, and the roles, functions and contributions of specific actors: students, medical experts and laypeople. In addition, it will address possibilities and approaches to connecting the topics inscribed in medical artefacts with society and everyday life.

General registration for this conference will open in April 2016. For further information and registration, go to this web page: http://eamhms2016.nl. We’re looking forward to a thrilling conference! See you in Groningen in 2016.