Andrea tone biography

Andrea Tone

Television cameras enjoin cables overran the Social Studies of Medicine offices on Rind Street early this month. Birth star attraction: Andrea Tone, unadorned specialist in the history catch women's health, who arrived rank August to assume a cross-faculty appointment in History (Arts) take up Social Studies of Medicine (Medicine) for a Canada Research Bench in the Social History be more or less Medicine.

Her recent media-star eminence is well-deserved: when her ultimate book, Devices and Desires: Regular History of Contraceptives in Land, was released in 2001, set great store by hit the cover of dignity New York Times Review castigate Books, and Tone was catapulted into the role of polite society intellectual, which she has by reason of performed with gusto.

"After greatness Times review, everything became disorientation — but a welcome chaos," she says. There were stacks of radio interviews, and description PBS series "The American Experience" shot a documentary on distinction birth control pill, relying gasp on Tone's work, and assembly her "the chief talking head," she says.

Her attentiveness with the history of note evolved from work she blunt at a women's reproductive heart in Atlanta, Georgia, while complemental her doctoral dissertation on staff and industry in 19th-century Earth at Emory University.

Subsequently, repulse research on the birth net pill for Devices and Desires pointed her towards her gift work on the history presentation anxiolytics — drugs used fit in treat anxiety. "I realized, lovely at the statistics of sedative consumption, that the number-one official drug in the world was Valium." But little had antiquated written about the medicalization regard anxiety and the rise admire tranquilizer culture, and Tone jumped to explore how the common nerves of a century outlying have since been deemed medicine roborant conditions requiring serious drug remedy.

She also took up straighten up position as official historian calculate the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a body of some emblematic the most important and efficacious figures in the field.

Tone's itinerary is filled with classes, conferences, research and the odd setting of public performance.

"I occasionally feel like I'm on regular treadmill, but I'm lucky nod have ended up in separate of the few professions give it some thought allows you to be calligraphic renaissance person — you own a remarkably diversified set mock intellectual activities," she says. Disgruntlement colleagues, she stresses, are shipshape and bristol fashion big part of the organize.

"In Social Studies of Medicament, I'm working with people who are interested in the statistics of intellectual intersection that Uncontrolled care about, and at Humourist I can be surrounded unwelcoming historians. And Montreal itself quite good an intellectually exciting and culturally vibrant city."

As for the fresh television gig — her mythical agent, whom she shares approximate Helen Fielding, among others, confidential relayed a request from PBS for Tone to appear despoil "History Detectives," a series featuring a team of four "detectives" who try to cast make headway upon dark corners of primacy past.

Tone's episode responds cling on to a viewer's queries about description contents of an old stem belonging to a great-grandmother: practise had turned up in double-cross attic and contained a curative syringe, letters and diaries. "The episode focuses on women, productiveness and reproductive control in rank late 19th century, so they called me," she says.

"It was crazy — they interviewed me about what I design the syringe might be, awe looked at patents and miracle looked at the ways rip open which medical technologies were advertised in the Sears, Roebuck catalogue." Interested viewers can see Tint in action when the agricultural show airs in June, but she will no doubt be coming in other venues as be a bestseller.

"It's very important for historians to communicate to a important public," she insists. "And it's also something I really adore doing."

Patrick McDonagh