The first book of its kind, Forensic Medicine in Western Society: A History draws on the most recent developments in the historiography, to provide an overview of the history of forensic medicine in the West from the medieval period to the present day. Taking an international, comparative perspective on the changing nature of the relationship between medicine, law and society, it examines the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe (principally France, Italy and Germany) and the United States.
Following a thematic structure within a broad chronological framework, the book focuses on practitioners, the development of notions of ‘expertise’ and the rise of the expert, the main areas of the criminal law to which forensic medicine contributed, medical attitudes towards the victims and perpetrators of crime, and the wider influences such attitudes had. It thus develops an understanding of how medicine has played an active part in shaping legal, political and social change.
Including case studies which provide a narrative context to tie forensic medicine to the societies in which it was practiced, and a further reading section at the end of each chapter, Katherine D. Watson creates a vivid portrait of a topic of relevance to social historians and students of the history of medicine, law and crime.
Biography
Katherine D. Watson
'Katherine D. Watson has produced a superb synthetic work of medical and legal history that is sweeping in its narrative scope while at the same time attentive to manifold key differences in legal and medical thought and practice, both among nations and over time. Although the body of the work comes in at an efficient 150 pages, Watson's writing is so lucid that readers will come away with a solid foundational understanding of the definition, history, purpose, and meaning of forensic medicine in Western society.'
– Lynne Curry (Eastern Illinois University), H-Net'Watson gives a broad but very clear and thoughtful overview of the history of the relationship between Medicine and Law from the ancient times to the 20th centure.' - Heiner Fangerau, Ulm University
'...Watson's work is a valuable piece of literature, and on this occasion it is certainly not the sex and crime content that makes the book attractive, it is Wastson's clear, well-structured and wide-ranging reconstruction of the history of forensic medicine.' - Heiner Fangerau, Ulm University
'Combining broad historical scope that covers the Middle Ages to the present (with perfunctory mention of earlier periods), substantial comparison between continental European and Anglo-American legal systems, and coverage of the key areas of medico-legal knowledge and practice, this succint volume is the most thorough introductory text for the history of this subject.' - Daniel Asen, Columbia University, New York
'Engagingly written and exuding enthusiasm for the subject and its potential, Watson's book offers a trustworthy guide to forensic medicine's past, and a warm invitation to its pursuit in future historical inquiry.' - Ian Burney, Medical History, October 2011 55(4)
