'In search of the best medical education in Europe 1500-1789: Students, teachers and institutions.' conference to be held at the C.S.I.C, Barcelona, 6-8 September 2007. (360G-Wellcome-081354_Z_06_Z)

In Search of the best Medical Education in Europe 1500-1789: Students, teachers and institutions The conference will have a comparative European Focus, concentrating on the major centres for medical education c. 1500-1789 (including at different times Padua, Bologna, Paris, Montpellier, Basle, Leiden, Edinburgh and Gottingen), exploring how and why the medical faculties of these universities blossomed, what students they attracted, and not least the networks and knowledge they created. The period chosen starts with the increased travelling of the Renaissance and ends with the ancien regime, when both the political structure of Europe and the content and nature of medical teaching changed radically. It is noteworthy that this hugely important cultural interchange in medicine has so far remained unexplored in any systematic way, something which this conference will remedy. The conference will deal with how medical knowledge was disseminated, validated and accepted; the relationship between medical centres of excellence and the periphery; how medical careers were built and the role and status of medical travel in this connection; the role of a republic of letters in medicine established as a consequence of medical travel; the significance of the medical tutor in mentoring students' travel; the importance of personal contacts, exchange of books etc., in facilitating the spread of new medical knowledge.