מדע וקפה: Under the microscope: controlling female bodies in French Algeria

CAFE DES SCIENCES

Under the microscope: controlling female bodies in French Algeria
A lecture by Mayan Lalush, PhD student in Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Cafe Kiosko | HaRav Yizkhak Yedidya Frenkel 31

The French Institute in Israel welcomes, for its next “Café des Sciences”, Mayan Lalush, PhD student in Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). Entitled "Under the microscope: controlling female bodies in French Algeria", Mayan Lalush's conference, moderated in English, focuses on the way in which, in history, the medical system has been able to constitute a tool of power over women, in colonized countries, and, among them in particular, in Algeria. Her lecture, in English, will take place on Wednesday, April 19 at Café Kiosko in Tel Aviv.

Since 2020, Mayan Lalush is a member of an European transnational research team (ERC) within the department of HUJI of studies dedicated to contemporary Middle Eastern studies. Mayan Lalush received in 2021 a “Chateaubriand” fellowship from the French government to carry out further research at Sciences-Po Aix-en-Provence.

Mayan Lalush's research is at a crossroad between colonial history, medical history and gender studies. She studies medicine as a tool for the colonial power to control local populations. She explores the “medicalization” of women in Algeria – Berbers, Arabs, Muslims, and Jews alike – through the lenses of the French model of healing and curing. Mayan Lalush’s research examines the interactions between female patients – young mothers, pregnant women, and prostitutes – and French medical and administrative representatives within colonial institutions.

In this “Café des sciences”, Mayan Lalush will tell us about her fascinating subject of study, based on her knowledge of both the Middle East and medical practice, and also on her academic experience abroad. She will present case studies from her scientific research.