Treating Museum Objects as Text: A Case Study Part II
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Abstract
Medical instrument collections are neglected primary source material that can be used to produce original scholarship on the history of medicine and the history of optometry. Opening museum collections and associated archives to researchers allows collections managers to simultaneously address curatorial backlogs, facilitate research, and provide a foundation for crafting public-facing exhibits. In order to add to the historiography, research should not only focus on the technical aspects of the instruments, but also employ theory to examine of the meaning of the objects in context. In this way, objects can be a vehicle for understanding broader themes in the history of medicine and reveal their utility as material evidence of the impact of medicine on society and culture. In this article, an assemblage of ophthalmometers in the Archives & Museum of Optometry collection are treated as “text” to explore the nature of power in the doctor-patient relationship in early optometry.
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