“A Grassroots History of American Medicine with Jim Downs”

Hosted by Jim Downs on October 22nd, 2025

Join Gilder Lehrman–NEH Professor of History at Gettysburg College and Guggenheim Fellow Jim Downs for a discussion and Q&A of his new Norton Short, Medicine by the People: How Ordinary People Changed American Healthcare.

This grassroots history of American medicine shows how regular people were architects of medical knowledge and care, and were always at the cutting edge of medicine.

In the second half of the hour, audience members are invited and encouraged to ask questions in an open Q&A with Jim.

Everyone is welcome and registrants will receive a recording of the event.

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Jim Downs is currently a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity at Brown University and the author of Maladies of Empire and other books. His writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Slate. He lives in Philadelphia.

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