SEMINARS IN MEDICAL ETHICS AND HUMANITIES

Presented by the Medical Humanities Program at IUPUI

In conjunction with the Indiana University Center for Bioethics

Medical Rumors, Medical Atrocities

The Legacy of Japanese Physicians in China, 1900-1945

From 1900 to 1945, Japanese physicians were on the forefront of bringing the benefits of modern biomedicine to China. Yet within today's Chinese popular culture, Japanese physicians of the period are frequently portrayed as devils who were intent on destroying the Chinese people. Rumors about Japanese physicians who murdered through injections can be explained as Chinese suspicion about the technologies of modern medicine, particularly the hypodermic needle. At the same time, however, some Japanese physicians did in fact engage in medical atrocities through the Japanese army's infamous germ warfare organization, Unit 731.� To what extent can we say that Chinese rumors about evil Japanese physicians were nothing but rumor? This paper explores the difficulty of separating fact from fiction when evaluating the cultural legacy of modern biomedicine in China.

January 23, 2003 (Thursday)

4:00 � 5:00 p.m.

Medical Library, IB 301-302

Co-sponsored with the Johns Shaw Billings History of Medicine Society

Ruth Rogaski, Ph.D.

Department of History, Princeton University

Dr. Rogaski specializes in the history of nineteenth and twentieth-century China, with a focus on the social history of science and medicine.� She is currently completing a book manuscript entitled Hygienic Modernity: Preserving Health and Preventing Disease in Treaty Port, China and is beginning a new project on imperial science in Manchuria.

Open to the public, but space is limited.�� Please call Judi Campbell at (317) 274-4740 or email a message �[email protected] to reserve a spot.

CME Accreditation:� The Indiana University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit:� The Indiana University School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 hour in category 1 credit towards the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

Disclosure:� All faculty participating in Continuing Medical Education activities sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine are expected to disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentations.

*** More Seminars Scheduled for Spring Semester ***

February 26, 2003 (Wednesday) Noon-1:00 p.m., Medical Library IB 301-02

�Diverse Perspectives: Considerations About Embryonic Stem Cell Research�Panel Discussion�

Meg Gaffney, Sarah Martin, Eric Meslin, David Orentlicher; IU Center for Bioethics

April 10, 2003 (Thursday) Noon-1:00 p.m., Medical Library IB 301-02

Topic: The Impact of the World Wide Web on Medical Practice

Paul Helft; Department of Medicine