The Gut, A Peculiar, Emotional, Storyteller with Dr. Elsa Richardson (Part 1)

Submerge in the fascinating history of the human gut. Distinguished historian, academic and acclaimed author of Rumbles, Elsa Richardson invites us to a thought-provoking exploration of the cultural and historical significance of digestion in Western society. From ancient beliefs about the power of the stomach to modern-day obsessions with gut health, she helps us uncover the ways in which our digestive systems have shaped not only our understanding of health but also our emotions, identities, and societies. Profit from her analytical lens and brilliant humor, as she incites us to jump into the gut’s metaphors of noise and sensations and delve into how the digestive system has been understood, feared, and medicalized over time. A fantastic storyteller herself, she weaves together elements of science, philosophy, and social history, examining how gut health has influenced ideas about the self, emotion, good manners and even morality. Use this opportunity to glance at the gut’s role in shaping human identity and health and let yourself be challenged to rethink about what lies beneath the surface of everyday bodily functions.

Dr. Richardson holds a Chancellor's Fellowship in the History of Health and Wellbeing at the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow. She specializes in the intersection of medical and cultural history, examining the relationship of heterodox practices, beliefs and movements to mainstream society and culture, with a particular focus on the interaction between medicine and the imagination, science and the supernatural, psychology and the occult. Her current research explores the history of diet, vegetarianism, other alternative food cultures, mental stress and stomach disorders in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain.

Links: University of Strathclyde Glasgow Staff Account: https://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/drelsarichardson/ E-Mail: elsa.richardson@strath.ac.uk X: @elsacrichardson Bluesky: @ecrichardson.bsky.social