It’s been interesting doing readings in 372 and this class at the same time because I the topics overlap quite a bit at times. This week I was reminded of an article we read last week call “Science and Culture”, calling for the increase importance and value of science in Education in 1880, much like Whitman 25 years earlier in his poem collection Leaves of Grass. This fundamental call for reform of education, and desire for science to grow as a part of culture made me think of McTeague when we were talking about the slow progression of medical professions during this time. Medicine is very much like science, while we currently associate medicine to being the result of scientific study, it seems in both this book, and my other 19th century readings medicine and science were much like a guessing game.
These guessing games of science and medicine it seems had similar associations to things like palm reading now—sort of arbitrary, but some people believe in what they can’t see.
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| This looks like of like a blond haired brute, but maybe a little too humorous? |
McTeague’s profession of dentistry surprised me a lot, because while I understand medicine wasn’t prominent, I hadn’t given the profession of dentistry much thought, until McTeague. We are constantly reminded of his lack in brain power, and are told in the beginning of his path o being a dentist as something he stumbled upon, not something that was hard fought for.
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| These just make my mouth hurt looking at them! imagine if they were extracted with out Novocain! |
He pulls your teeth with his hands?!!! This proclamation of pride from Marcus, as if to legitimize his friend’s practice as one of the best!!! What I want to know is when did people realize that you needed education to be a dentist? When did it become more about the easiest way to remove a tooth, than the ability to do it with your hands because you have brute strength?!
As always, I love your pictures! You could be discussing the finer points of a back molar from right whale and I would still laugh. Secondly, I have to agree, it is disturbing how bad dentistry was back then, especially if you had something seriously wrong with your teeth. All I have to say is that I am happy that dentistry has progressed since McTeague's time.
ReplyDeleteI would run from that dentist in your picture!
ReplyDeleteThe professionalization of medicine and dentistry took a long time. Centuries ago, for example, the best surgeons were those who could amputate a limb the fastest, because there were no anaesthetics. Surgeons used to compete to get their times down.