Public Health and Public Houses: A History of Infectious Disease Prevention, with Uncomfortable Oxford

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The Talk

Oxford has been focal for many years in discussions about vaccination, public health, and disease prevention. Early efforts at public vaccination were implemented as early as the 18th century, while medical research and medical practice converged to help shape intellectual discourses about vaccine efficacy.

Throughout the past three centuries, vaccination has been implemented with mixed success. Sometimes uptake in the city was enthusiastic and strong, while at other times it was resisted and ignored. Sometimes, public houses became the unsuspected allies of public health policies. Join Uncomfortable Oxford for a unique discussion of the history of public health in the city and the sometimes unconventional methods public vaccinators used to convince the populace to accept vaccination.

The talk will be live streamed on CrowdCast. After you have registered you will receive an invitation to the event 48 hours before the talk begins. You will also be able to re-watch the talk (or watch it for the first time!) for a month from the live event.

All profits from this talk will go towards the important work the Museum of Oxford carries out with local older residents as part of the ‘Library of you’ campaign.

The speaker

Uncomfortable Oxford are an academic-led organisation in Oxford dedicated to raising awareness about the ‘uncomfortable’ aspects of history and their impact today: Racial inequality, gender and class discrimination, and legacies of empire. They offer many tours and talks so do visit their website https://www.uncomfortableoxford.co.uk/ for more info.

Library of you

This talk is the first in a series promoting the ‘Library of you’ fundraising campaign in the run up to the new Museum of Oxford opening.

Every year the Museum of Oxford works with older people in the city at events, at care homes and in hospitals to discuss and share their stories of the city.

The process of reminiscence has been proven to help connect people, reduce loneliness and symptoms of depression, promote physical health, reduce stress and enhance self-esteem.

Their stories are in danger of being lost forever making this work key to the preservation of Oxford’s history. Give today to help continue this work with Oxford’s older people.

Your story

Every person has their own story. By donating to the ‘Library of you’, you can create your own story title to go on one of the book spines and ensure that we can continue to work with Oxford residents and share their stories.

Find out more about the ‘Library of you’ here.

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