A major new research programme which proposes a comprehensive reassessment of the history of reproduction is to be launched at the University of Cambridge.

Starting in October, “Generation to Reproduction” will bring together researchers from across the University, combining their expertise in every major period of the history of medicine.

Funded by a five-year strategic award of £785,000 from the Wellcome Trust, the research will build on a lively field of historical investigation. The aim is a systematic reappraisal that will offer fresh perspectives on issues from ancient fertility rites to IVF.

Historians of medicine and biology in History and Philosophy of Science (John Forrester, Nick Hopwood, Lauren Kassell and Jim Secord, with Eleanor Robson as collaborator) will work with colleagues in Classics (Rebecca Flemming), Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (Martin Johnson), King’s College (Peter Jones), Geography (Richard Smith) and History (Simon Szreter).

Dr Nick Hopwood, who will lead the research team, said: “Reproduction has seen especially rapid scientific, social and political innovation in recent decades and still raises some extremely challenging questions. But debate too often focuses on the very short term. This unprecedented pooling of expertise and the support of the Wellcome Trust have created an exciting opportunity to tackle long-term historical questions afresh.”

‘Generation’ and ‘reproduction’ are at the heart of 'life-cycle' medicine. The project will cover theories of sex and gender; entities such as seeds, germs, embryos, monsters and clones; concerns about creation, evolution, degeneration and regeneration; investments in maternity, paternity and heredity; practices of fertility control, potency and childbirth; and health relations between citizen and state, individual and population.

“Generation to Reproduction” will thematize gradual, long-term changes as well as the transformations of the modern age. Four complementary research strands will describe and explain continuity and change in practices and representations. “Patients and practitioners” will study medical encounters with people seeking help with reproduction. “Reproducing generations: conception and survival” will consider how maternal, fetal, infant and childhood health have affected adult health and fertility, and the reproductive impact of sexual behaviour and venereal disease. “Representation and communication” will show how changing understandings of sex, development and evolution were produced, debated and used. “Twentieth-century transformations: technologies, experiences and regulation” will explore the reproductive revolutions that have made assisted conception routine.

The strategic award marks a new stage in the University’s partnership with the medical humanities programme of the Wellcome Trust. Dramatically expanding activities established over the last five years under a Wellcome enhancement award, the grant will provide PhD studentships, research assistance, research leave and support for events and outreach, including a major exhibition on ‘The Book of Generation’ at the University Library. As a sign of support from within Cambridge, the Isaac Newton Trust has granted £46,000 in matching funds.

Three positions have been advertised already. The closing date is 24 July and further information can be found at http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/generation/.

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