History of homeopathy and social history of medicine: the story of a successful marriage / História da homeopatia e história social da medicina: a história de um casamento feliz

The Institute for the History of Medicine (IGM) was established in 1980 by the Robert Bosch Foundation, in Stuttgart, Germany, on the basis of a collection of documents and other small objects belonging to Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. However, since its very inception, its directors considered that the history of homeopathy also had a role to play in the larger picture of the history of medicine. On the other hand, the history of homeopathy was not restricted to the account of the development of ideas and careers of practitioners, but it would benefit significantly by approaching it from the perspective of social history, including the study of institutions, patients’ views, lay supporting societies and publications. This paper presents a review of this project as assessed by an analysis of recent publications that, taken as a whole, reflect the historiographical contribution of researchers at IGM.(AU)

O Instituto para a História da Medicina (IGM) foi fundado em 1980 pela Fundação Robert Bosch em Stuttgart, Alemanha, na base de uma coleção de documentos e outros objetos pertencentes a Samuel Hahnemann, o formulador da homeopatia. No entanto, já desde sua fundação, seus diretores consideraram que a história da homeopatia também tinha um papel no panorama mais amplo da história da medicina. Do outro lado, a história da homeopatia não estaria restrita ao relato das idéias e vida profissional dos homeopatas, mas seria significativamente beneficiada por uma abordagem que levasse também em conta a perspectiva da história social, incluindo o estudo de instituições, a visão dos usuários, associações de partidários leigos e as publicações. Este artigo apresenta uma revisão desse projeto através da análise das publicações recentes que, tomadas em conjunto, refletem a contribuição historiográfica dos pesquisadores do IGM.(AU)

Homeopathy in the USA

Homeopathy was introduced into the USA by Hans Burch Gram in 1825. It developed largely through immigration of German homeopaths. The first homeopathic medical college was established in Allentown, PA in 1835. The American Institut of Homeopathy (AIH) was founded in... (AU)