Tuesday, January 20, 20264:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Bunche Hall, Rm 10383
The Center for European and Russian Studies, along with the Department of History and Latin American Institute at UCLA, are hosting a lecture entitled "Experimenting with Care: Syphilis Therapies and the Making of Chile’s Welfare State" by Dr. Felipe Martínez-Fernández. This talk will feature discussion with Dr. Elizabeth O'Brien and will take place on January 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM in Bunche Hall Room 10383. Register here.
About the Talk
Before the arrival of penicillin, the Chilean state actively experimented in its search for a cure for syphilis. From 1929 onwards, the Bacteriological Institute of Chile produced Neoarsolán, a local version of the globally renowned Neosalvarsan, which was distributed through public hospitals, charitable institutions and other healthcare services.. This paper examines how these initiatives transformed the treatment of syphilis and reveals their broader implications for the development of welfare policies in the early 20th-century.
It argues that medical experimentation was not a marginal practice, but rather a cornerstone in the expansion of state responsibility and the development of public health infrastructures. By tracing how therapies were tested, often on vulnerable populations defined by class, gender and age, this study demonstrates how one state, the Chilean state, relied on these populations as sites of experimentation. The medical knowledge and practices derived from these trials directly informed the policies, institutions, and routines for tackling syphilis in Chile's early welfare state. Moreover, these actions fit into and informed a global pattern.
About the Speaker
Felipe Martínez-Fernández is a historian of modern medicine, with a particular interest in infectious diseases, microbes, and antibacterial agents since 1850. He completed his PhD in the History of Science at the University of Leeds in 2024. Alongside his academic work, he has gained professional experience working with archives, special collections and medical museums. He is currently interested in digital media and communicating science projects.
About the Discussant
Elizabeth O’Brien is an Associate Professor of the History of Medicine and Latin American History. She is also a member of the History Department’s cross-field group in the History of Gender and Sexuality. Professor O’Brien has published about various topics in the history of medicine, including the history of fertility control, abortion, eugenics, and obstetric violence; the history of ideas about race, racism, and Indigeneity in medicine; and people’s popular demands for healthcare in 1930s Mexico. Broadly speaking, she is dedicated to examining themes of gender, race, religion, empire, and nation in the production of medical knowledge, while also learning from social movements that envision more just futures.
Venue
Bunche Hall Room 10383
(Take elevator to 10th floor)
Sponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies, Latin American Institute, Department of History