NEW VOICES TALK SERIES 2025: WOMEN’S IDEAS IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE

About the Series

The New Voices Talk Series is organized by Dr. Jil Muller, Deputy Director of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, and Dr. Fabrizio Bigotti, Director of the Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance. The aim of the series is to highlight the essential yet often overlooked role of women in the history of medicine.

Viktorya Vasilyan – 14 May, 4-6 pm

During human history, infants were fed human milk for survival, either through breastfeeding by their mothers or adoptive breastfeeding by other women. From antiquity to today, breastfeeding has been valued, reflected in mythology, philosophy, art, and religion worldwide. In ancient Armenia, it was prized for its health benefits, with wet nurses serving the upper classes while rural women breastfed for economic reasons. Colostrum was once deemed harmful but gained recognition in 1699 through Michael Ettmüller. During the European Renaissance, breastfeeding saw renewed appreciation in art, with depictions like suckler Lady and suckler Eve symbolising respect for motherhood.

Figures such as Hildegard of Bingen and Regina Areshian, founder of the Research Center of Maternal and Child Health Protection in Armenia, studied maternal hygiene and wet nursing. This work explores sociological, medical, and moral treatises on these themes, informed by research on the Virgo Lactans and Virgin of Humility. Iconography studies, such as those by Williamson, Sperling, Rivera, and Bergmann, provide critical insights into the Eve-Mary relationship and sacred images, though scholarly consensus on breastfeeding and wet nursing in the Middle Ages remains elusive.

About the Speaker…

Viktorya Vasilyan holds a PhD in History and serves as a researcher and the head of the Scientific Organisational Department at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA. Additionally, she is a lecturer at the Traditional Medicine University of Armenia. Currently, she manages the “100 Archaeological Monuments of Armenia” project, an initiative aimed at exploring and documenting significant archaeological sites across the nation. More information about this project is available at https://ama100.am/en. She is also honoured to serve as a Goodwill Ambassador for Peace, Human Rights, and Humanity with the IHRO in Armenia.

Participation and Registration

The event will be held online and is free of charge for all interested participants. To receive the Zoom link, registration is required: Register here.

Don’t miss this exciting event—join us as we explore the fascinating history of women’s medical knowledge!