Blog posts tagged ‘material culture’

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A medical testing room with various apparatus white white walls and blinds over the windows.

HIV/AIDS Prevention and the Overuse of Single-Use Devices in Tanzania

Presentations

Andrea Azizi Kifyasi examined how HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns expanded the use of disposable products while creating new waste-management pressures in Tanzania.
A 1960s advert with saturated colours showing plastic medical tuning, gloves and overlayed text.

The Plastics Problem: Inventing and Forgetting Sciences of Synthetic Harms

Presentations

Jeremy Greene revisited the medical “plastics problem” of the 1960s and the regulatory sciences that helped earlier evidence of synthetic harms to be forgotten.
Researchers stand in front of 3 presentation screens in a room lined with tables and chairs.
20 Jul 2026

Plastic Amnesias at HSS 2026: Forgotten Histories of Plastics and Health

At HSS 2026, two linked Plastic Amnesias panels explored how evidence of plastic harms, reusable technologies and material alternatives has been repeatedly obscured or forgotten across medicine and global health.
Plastic parts of diagnostic devices are placed on a blue background.
14 Jul 2026

Toxic Asepsis at AAHM 2026

In June 2026, Eloïse Richard and Bruno Strasser presented ‘Toxic Asepsis: Chemical Sterilization and the Rise of Disposable Medical Devices in the 20th Century’ at AAHM.
Miranda Melcher stands on a staircase pointing at the words "More Books" which have been printed on the wall by her side.
14 Jul 2026

Bruno Strasser Discusses The Mask on New Books Network

Bruno Strasser joined the New Books Network podcast to discuss the history of respiratory masks and the changing ideas of health, risk and responsibility surrounding them.
Plastic part of a dialysis device is deconstructed on a blue background.

Toxic Asepsis: Chemical Sterilization and the Rise of Disposable Medical Devices in the 20th Century

Presentations

Eloïse Richard and Bruno Strasser’s AAHM 2026 presentation explored how disposable medical devices became associated with safety, efficiency and convenience, and what histories of resistance might offer for rethinking healthcare practices today.
A group of researchers group around a table to see a presentation of the screen infront of them.

Cleaning and Sterilising Hospital Textiles in the Early Twentieth Century

Presentations

Eloïse Richard presented ‘Behind the White Coat: Cleaning and Sterilizing Hospital Textiles in the Early 20th Century’ at the international conference ‘A History of Textile Cleanliness’, exploring the labour, infrastructure, and material practices that supported hospital care before the widespread turn to disposability.
A monochrome illustration of the Evelyn table of veins.

Talking Trash: The Rise of Throwaway Medical Culture

Presentations

Bruno Strasser presented ‘Talking Trash — The Rise of Throwaway Medical Culture in the Age of Plastics’ at the Leuven Centre for Health Humanities, exploring how single-use medical devices transformed hospital care in the second half of the twentieth century.
A large wall of waste is being moved around by an orange forklift truck digger.
21 May 2026

Plastics Research Forum at the University of Edinburgh

The first Plastics Research Forum brings together researchers from across the University of Edinburgh to share work on plastics, sustainability, health, design, engineering, and society, while exploring opportunities for future interdisciplinary collaboration.
A conference exhibition space is shown with two people engaging in conversation and tables and displays showing the After the Single Use project.
09 Jun 2026

Exploring the future of medical devices at Med-Tech Insights Expo 2026

After the Single Use researchers Alice Street and Millie Marriott Webb joined Med-Tech Insights Expo 2026, using the Deconstructing Devices project and an Innovation Stage presentation to open up conversations around medical device lifecycles, sustainability, and material transparency.
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