Current exhibit: When There Are No Words

Until March 30, 2025
painting of a flower
When There Are No Words

La version française suit.

The exhibit, When There Are No Words, addresses the subjects of death and grief in Québec society through the lens of colour, symbols, printed texts, and handwritten messages found in sympathy cards from the last 150 years. It also includes a selection of condolence objects provided by the Organ and Tissue Donation Program of the ĢƵ Health Centre as an illustration of a different expression of sympathy.

Presented by the Department of Social Studies of MedicineMaude Abbott Medical Museum, and the Osler Library of the History of Medicine.


’eDzپDz&Բ;Quand les mots manquent aborde les thèmes de la mort et du deuil dans la société québécoise à travers le prisme des couleurs, des symboles, des textes imprimés et des messages manuscrits trouvés dans des cartes de condoléances datant des 150 dernières années. Elle comprend également une sélection d’objets de condoléances fournis par le Programme de don d’organes et de tissus du Centre universitaire de santé ĢƵ, illustrant une autre forme d’expression de sympathie.


Recent events and exhibits:

Remote video URL

Reading Abbott banner

Maude Abbott loved to read. This exhibition explores both what she read and ways we can read her life story.

 

Sequence Heart and Mind by Stephan Ballard

 

Thou Hast Need of Them: Historical Minorities in the Faculty of Medicine

 Historical surgical tools / Left side: Logos ĢƵ Library, Jewish Public Library, School of Medicine / Right side: Maude Abbott Medical Museum & Osler Library crest

Staff from the Osler Library of the History of MedicineMaude Abbott Medical Museum, and the  discussed the fascinating holdings related to three medical graduates from ĢƵ, each of whom prevailed over the systemic barriers they faced in pursuing their medical careers. Each institution gave a brief presentation about their graduate, followed by the opportunity to interact with items from their material history.

Past exhibitions and presentations

2023
  • , a collaboration between the Islamic Studies Library and the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, September 2023 - February 2024.
  • / manuscrits médicaux et notes marginales. Curator Dot Porter of the University of Pennsylvania’s Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies and Prof. Emerita Faith Wallis of ĢƵ came together for a special joint edition of Coffee with a Codex. They looked at two medical Manuscripts: the Osler Library’s recent acquisition, , and from the Kislak collection at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • . Meygan Brody, "Mortality in Medicine: How Palliative Care and Euthanasia Reframe Our Relationship with Death" ; Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, The opioid overdose crisis in British Columbia: Towards a Sociopolitical Reckoning ; Emmanuel Adams-Gelinas, The Biological Psychiatry of Islamic Medicine: an Antidote to Misconceptions about Medieval Madness ; Neevya Balasubramaniam, “The Central Nervous System in the 18th Century Japanese Dissection Scrolls: Art of Observation and Dissection” ; Paris Dastjerdi, "Restoring Avicenna's Tomb - A Historical Analysis of William Osler's Efforts" ; Yoel Yakobi, “An Army of the (Illustrated) Dead: The Use of Style in Andreas Vesalius's Skeleton and Muscle Men in Deposing Galen as the Emperor of Anatomy.” Plus, a special guest appearance by Dr. Milton Roxanas, "Early auscultation and the glass stethoscope." .
  • Danister Perera, . ! .
  • . 3 April 2023.
2022
  • . Yoel Yakobi, "Concessions, Coercions, and Coveted Conversions: Papal Injunctions against Jewish Physicians in the Renaissance"; Alba Sanchez-Allakhverdieva, "Beyond the Origins of the Institute Philippe-Pinel: Exploring the Relationship between Forensic Psychiatry and the Deinstitutionalization Movement in Quebec"; Devon Haseltine, “Optimizing Global Food Security for a Sustainable and Healthy Tomorrow”; Rushali Gandhi, “On the Presence of Unaccounted Bias: The Saga of Samuel George Morton’s Skull Collection and Race”; Saman Arfaie, “Leonardo da Vinci's Medical Library: Mining the Secrets of Genius, and Creativity”; Ali Fazlollahi, “Passing the Torch: Education During the Golden Age of Neurosurgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute.” 1 November 2022. .
  • Talks by Margaret Lock, Bernard Brais, Brendan Ross, Rolando Del Maestro, Jeremy Norman, Guylaine Beaudry, Mario Molina, Milton Roxanas, Vivien Lane, Maia Woolner (not recorded). 3 November 2022. .
  • Talk by scholar and author Allister Neher upon themes from his book, Art and Anatomy in Nineteenth-Century Britain. .
  • . Exhibit curated by Dr. Maia Woolner. McLennan Library Lobby, August-September 2022.
2021
  • . Local artist Caroline Boileau and ĢƵ-trained historian Margaret Carlyle interact with a few of the Osler Library's new acquisitions (and some older ones!) in an attempt to demystify medical history during a feminist dialogue of discovery. 15 December 2021. .
  • . An evening celebrating medical student humanities research supported by the Osler Library. Featured speakers: Lilly Groszman, "Untold Medical History: Montreal’s Days of Shame;" Brendan Ross, "The Chinese Apotheosis of Dr. Norman Bethune: The Making of a Medical Folk Hero;" Faith Wallis, "Osler the Student." .
  • . A moderated discussion held virtually on 23 March 2021. .
  • Perspectives on Sir William Osler in the 21st century. Virtual symposium hosted by our colleagues in the Department of Social Studies of Medicine on February 3, 2021. Moderated by Suzanne Morton (ĢƵ) and featuring panelists Jenna Healey (Queen's University), Samir Shaheen-Hussain (ĢƵ), Nadeem Toodayan (University of Queensland), André Lametti (ĢƵ), Mary Hague-Yearl (ĢƵ), and Christoph Gradmann (University of Oslo). Read of each of the talks, written by the medical students from the ĢƵ Osler Society. .
2020
  • Osler Day, featuring the () and the 43rd Annual Osler Lectureship, Wednesday November 4th, 2020.
  • Poetry Matters - Shane Neilson Thursday, February 13, 2020. A poet, physician, and critic from New Brunswick, Shane Neilson focuses on the articulation of pain and disordered affect through poetic form. As poet and editor, he comments on the emergent area of "disability poetics"; as a physician, he considers the value of poetry in medical practice.
2019
  • Osler Day, featuring the and the , Wednesday, November 6th, 2019.
  • "The Reception of Galen's Pharmacology in Latin", talk by Mary Louise Nickerson Travel Grant awardee Dr. Iolanda Ventura, Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies, Università di Bologna, Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 17:00 in ARTS 160. Sponsored by the ĢƵ Medievalists Annual Rare Books Talk.
  • Talk and workshop led by Mary Hague-Yearl, organized by Robin Simpson in conjunction with Jonathas de Andrade, "Counter-Narratives and other Fallacies," exhibit at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery, Concordia University.
  • . An exhibition curated by Dr. Rolando F. Del Maestro, William Feindel Professor Emeritus in Neuro-Oncology at ĢƵ and Director, Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at the Montreal Neurological Institute, 15 April - 30 June 2019. A catalogue to the exhibit is available and can be viewed or downloaded. Read some press coverage of this exhibit from France.fr: ; .
  • . An exhibition of rarely-displayed items relating to William Osler, curated by former Medical History Librarian, Pamela Miller, 15 April - 30 June 2019.
  • Panel discussion with Meg Crane (NYC - inventor of the Predictor), Prof. Jenna Healey (Queens Univ.), Prof. Christabelle Sethna (Univ. Ottawa), and Prof. Alanna Thain (ĢƵ Univ.), May 7, 2019.
  • An exhibit co-curated by Shana Cooperstein and Frances Cullen with contributions from Robin Lynch, Lauren Harnish, Rach Klein, Anya Kowalchuk, and Kristy Kong, 24 January - 15 May 2019.
  • An exhibition featuring the work of 2018 Michele Larose-Osler Library Artist-in-Residence, , 4 February - 15 April 2019.
  • , Keynote address by Lauren Kassell, University of Cambridge, Angelical Conjunctions conference, 12 April 2019.
2018
  • Osler Day, featuring the and the , 7 November 2018.
  • , Lecture by Hélène Cazes. Presented in collaboration with Le Département de langue et littérature françaises and Rare & Special Collections, Osler, Art, and Archives (ROAAr); supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 30 October 2018.
  • , Exhibition in collaboration with Text’art, a group of six Montreal fibre artists, and the Maude Abbott Medical Museum, 17 May - 20 August 2018.
  • , Exhibition by Loren Williams, December 13, 2017 - 4 May 2018.
  • Book Launch: Physicianship and the Rebirth of Medical Education, by J. Donald Boudreau, Eric Cassell, and Abraham Fuks, April 26, 2018. Print and e-book available through
  • , Lecture by Dr. Bernard Brais, sponsored by the Medical Students' Osler Society, April 17, 2018.
  • , Lecture by Professor Faith Wallis, sponsored by the Medical Students' Osler Society, February 5, 2018.
2017
  • , Exhibition by Lucy Lyons, October 12 - December 12, 2017.
  • , September 11 - October 2, 2017.
  • , January 2017 - August 2017.
  • , a talk by Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, MD, PhD, William Feindel Emeritus Professor in Neuro-Oncology, Director of ĢƵ Neurosurgical Simulation Research and Training Centre. This talk encouraged discussion surrounding ideas and individuals that have shaped the world of neuro-oncology, while placing emphasis on Canadian neuro-oncology research. Attendees were encouraged to prepare a ‘Canadian Neuro-Oncology Minute’ that highlighted an individual’s contributions to historical and/or current advancements in Canada and received an autographed copy of Dr. Rolando Del Maestro’s book (2008).
  • Rural Medicine in 20th Century Quebec: Stories and Devices, curated by Dr. Richard Fraser, Laura Sang, Joan O’Malley, Marc Provost, Jerry Xie, Meriem Bounnab and Lucy Luo. October 2016 - January 2017.
2016
  • , curated by Darren N. Wagner and Nick Whitfield. January-September 2016.
2015
  • , curated by Cynthia Tang and Anna Dysert. September-December 2015.
  • , curated by Sylvie Boisjoli and and Shana Cooperstein. Read exhibition talks from the curators in the spring 2015 issue of the Osler Library Newsletter (no. 122). Follow link to an interview with the curators on our blog.
2014
  • The Literature of Prescription: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Yellow Wallpaper. A Biography of Neurasthenia in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, curated by Prof. Andrea Tone. September - April 2014.
2013
  • Designing Doctors, an exhibit talk by Professor Annmarie Adams, ĢƵ School of Architecture. Tuesday, 7 May 2013, 1:00-2:00, Meakins Auditorium (5th floor McIntyre Medical Sciences Building).
  • "Neurological Laboratories" to Interdisciplinary "Centres of Brain Research": Otfrid Foerster, Wilder Penfield, and Early Neuroscience in Breslau and Montreal, a Nickerson Fellowship talk by Dr. Frank Stahnisch, Thursday, 2 May 2013, 2:00 - 3:00, Don Bates Seminar Room 101, Department of Social Studies of Medicine, ĢƵ, 3647 Peel Street.
2012
2011