In May, I took up my position as the 2016 Klemperer Fellow in the History of Medicine at the New York Academy of Medicine. Thanks to the wonderful staff there, especially Arlene Shanter, I was able to dig through the library’s trove of materials on otologists in the 1920s and 1930s and their collaborations with social organizations for the deaf.

One aspect of my research focused on public campaigns that were launched by the organizations (in collaboration with otologists) to raise awareness on the “problem of deafness” and the importance for preserving one’s hearing. I wrote a guest post for NYAM based on this research.

Check out Part I and Part II of my guest post.