Gianna Pomata
Italian historian of medicine and science known for research on early modern Europe, especially case histories, medical empiricism, and the roles of patients and women in healthcare; taught at the University of Bologna and later at the Johns Hopkins University Institute of the History of Medicine.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. Historia
This collection explores how an early modern genre of knowledge centered on collecting particular facts, observations, and case histories shaped practices in medicine, natural history, antiquarianism, and philology. Through case studies spanning the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it shows how compilers and investigators built credibility by amassing particulars, organizing them into narratives and catalogs, and bridging erudite scholarship with empirical inquiry. The volume traces the transformations of this mode of inquiry alongside the rise of experimental practices and critical historical scholarship, highlighting exchanges between artisans, physicians, scholars, and state institutions. Together, the essays illuminate a pivotal shift in European ways of knowing, from authoritative texts toward evidence-based investigation.