With the rise of comparative anatomy in the seventeenth century, animals became frequent albeit unwilling guests at European research institutions. Anatomised dead or alive, they provided physical and physiological data that informed the understanding of the human body. This talk will look at neglected sources for the study of animal ethics in the period: the literary corpus of the anatomists at the Anatomy House in Copenhagen. This corpus provides crucial information about the relationship between early modern scientists and their experimental animals. Written by the very anatomists themselves, and addressing the issues of pain and scientific merit, these texts deserve a place in the history of science and medicine.

Ivana Bi?ak is a Junior Research Fellow at Durham University, where she works on the literary reception of early modern scientific and medical experiments. As a winner of the Royal Society’s History of Science Award, she was able to start working on Danish materials for the history of anatomy. She is a Santorio Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance in Pisa. She has published articles in Milton Quarterly, The Seventeenth Century, and Renaissance Studies.

All are welcome to attend. However, if you would like a free sandwich, please email ceh@cas.au.dk and indicate any special dietary needs before 12pm on Thursday, Semptember 5th.