Sweet Sensation: Humanity, Experimental Medicine and the Philadelphia Animal Cruelty Trial of 1914

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

In June 1913, Dr Joshua Sweet, Assistant Professor of Surgical Research at the University of Pennsylvania, was charged with ‘unnecessary cruelty to dogs’. Sweet’s trial would take place the following April. My account of that trial, its context and its aftermath, is primarily concerned with the contested experience of ‘humanity’: a nebulous concept that incorporates other-oriented feelings and practices, couched in broader social and moral frameworks. Ultimately, it is an account of the contextual entanglement of humane feelings – emotions and senses – with practices, politics, belief systems, knowledge systems, professional networks, gender and class dynamics and moral/ethical imperatives.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEmotions: History, Culture, Society
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 22 Oct 2024
Publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • cruelty
  • ethics
  • humanity
  • medicine
  • morality

Publication forum classification

  • Publication forum level 1

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • History
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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