On Tuesday, Nov. 7, Rose Holz, PhD, will give the annual Charles and Linda Wilson Lecture in Medical Humanities, discussing the famed 1939 Dickinson-Belskie Birth Series Sculptures.
The Wilson Lecture will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Sorrell Center, room 2018. Lunch will be provided.
In her talk, Dr. Holz will discuss the influential Dickinson-Belskie Birth Series sculptures, which depict the process of human in utero development from fertilization through delivery. Created in the late 1930s, the Birth Series first went on display at the 1939-1940 World’s Fair in New York City. Hugely popular, the sculptures were reproduced in a variety of forms and sent out to medical teaching institutions, health museums and major philanthropic organizations across the United States and the world.
Within the story lies an unexpected tale about the ways in which art and religion can affect the scientific knowledge people create about their bodies — and how to interpret it. It also provides a productive way to engage in conversations about pregnancy and the abortion debate.
Dr. Holz’s work on the Birth Series recently was featured in an article in Smithsonian Magazine.
Dr. Holz is a professor of practice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she serves as associate director of the women’s and gender studies program and, until 2019, was director of its humanities in medicine program. Her teaching and research focus on the history of reproduction in America, with particular emphases on the medical and commercial provision of birth control, the history of Planned Parenthood and the use of art to teach the process of in utero development.
Charles Wilson majored in English literature at UNL and, in 1964, received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, he completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology before returning to Nebraska to practice in Lincoln. Believing a broad education is important, Dr. Wilson and his wife, Linda, founded the humanities in medicine program at UNL and fund the Wilson Lecture in Medical Humanities at UNMC to emphasize the humanities in medical education and the importance for life-long learning. Dr. Wilson served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents from 1990 to 2008.