Research Project – Ubiquitous Womb Maladies: Medical Knowledge, Women’s Body, and Mirage of Health in China (1902-1949)
Presenter: Yating Li, PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Time: March 28, 2025, 4:30-6:30 pm
Place: Gregory Hall 415
Introduction:
This proposed project, “Ubiquitous ‘Uterus Diseases’: Medical Knowledge, Women’s Body, and Mirage of Health in China (1902-1949)”, will investigate the emergence of “Uterus Diseases Zigong Bing” as a popular medical and cultural category in early 20th-century China. During this period, the discourses of modernity functioned as a tool to mobilize individuals towards the national goal of purging deficiency in military and political power, permeating modernity into daily life. However, modernity was not a homogeneous concept, nor was the process of modernization a straightforward progression with a predetermined endpoint. The social discourses around “uterus diseases” offer a perfect window to examine the social meanings of health, body, gender, and modernity in a more nuanced social and cultural context.
