ICOG visiting research fellow: Giacomo Lorandi, University of Freiburg

During the Spring semester, ICOG welcomes new visiting research fellows. The first to arrive is Giacomo Lorandi, a medical historian from the University of Freiburg. During his semester in Groningen, he will collaborate with Raingard Esser and Rina Knoeff in a research project on fame in the early modern medical sciences.

A medical celebrity in 18th century Europe

Lorandi studies the topics of reputation, fame and celebrity in 18th century Europe with the case of the Swiss physician Théodore Tronchin (1709-1781) as a point of departure. Tronchin was a pupil of Boerhaave and became a medical celebrity due to his research on the treatment of smallpox. Lorandi's research covers three main aspects of Tronchin's carreer: his sociability, his medical practice and the social and academic network that he was able to create around his persona.

The research project is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation - La gestation d'une célébrité médicale au XVIIIe siècle. Théodore Tronchin (1709-1781), médecin des dames, vulgarisateur et homme de réseaux - ( P300P1_177733 / Université de Fribourg, Early Modern History - prof. Claire Gantet ) - and is in partnership with Raingard Esser and Rina Knoeff at the RUG and Emma Spary at the University of Cambridge.

Visiting research fellows programme

ICOG welcomes applications for visiting research fellowships from academics working in the fields of its five research centres. The duration of visits usually varies from a month to half a year. During this time, visiting research fellows are expected to work on their own research projects (ideally in collaboration with a scholar or an academic team from ICOG) and to participate in the events organised by ICOG.