This thesis explores the role of Irish immigrant women as experimental subjects for American gynecological research in the 1850s-1870s. Despite the central role Irish women played in the development of this medical discipline as subjects, scholarship has largely ignored their contributions. Drawing from the Woman's Hospital's patient case books and annual reports; medical journals and physicians' published works; and texts written by and about Irish immigrant women in New York, this thesis attempts to understand how Irish women influenced the development of gynecology. Why did Irish immigrant women constitute such a significant portion of gynecological patients in mid-nineteenth century New York City? How did medicine draw from and contribute to common conceptions about class, race, and gender as they related to Irish immigrant women? Building on the historical scholarship about enslaved black women as subjects of gynecological research in the American South, this will be one of the first in-depth studies to include Irish women in the narrative. Expanding this history will alter the understanding of American gynecology by demonstrating how dependent this period of medical specialization and advancement was on the bodies and health of Irish immigrant women. Furthermore, it will highlight how historians can use institutional medical records to uncover the experiences of Irish women, who were otherwise excluded from the historical record.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Gynecology","Irish immigration","New York City"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 24269