2026 AAHPSSS Dyason Lecture: Medicine without Physicians

The Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (AAHPSSS) warmly invites you to the 2026 Dyason Lecture.

Medicine without Physicians: Do-it-Yourself Doctoring in the Dutch East Indies
Professor Hans Pols

Monday 2 November 2026
5 pm to 9 pm
The Nelson Meers Foundation Auditorium and Level 3, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney
Or join online. The link will be sent to registered attendees before the event.

Program
5 pm: Lecture (60 minutes)
6 pm: Questions and discussion (30 minutes)
6.30 pm: Networking with food and drinks on Level 3

Online attendees can join for the lecture and questions.

About the lecture
Research in the history and sociology of medicine, particularly on therapeutics and the sick role, has treated the doctor-patient relationship as the primary unit of analysis. When Roy Porter introduced approaches from social history by calling for a history of medicine "from below", he kept his focus on the doctor-patient relationship.

In this lecture on health behaviours in the Dutch East Indies, Professor Pols starts from the observation that most health care took place without a physician present. Physicians were scarce, and people often had to travel long distances to consult one. Instead, the medical marketplace offered a wide range of medications and remedies available through mail order. These included traditional Indonesian herbal medicine, patent medicines, a small number of "orthodox" medicines, and the products of Chinese-Indonesian pharmacies.

About Professor Pols
Hans Pols works on the history, sociology and anthropology of psychiatry and mental health. He led a major ARC-funded research project on the history of community mental health in Australia. His earlier work on colonial and postcolonial medicine in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia culminated in his monograph Nurturing Indonesia.

Alongside his historical research, Hans is involved in several projects to improve mental health services in Australia and Indonesia. He has a particular interest in how consumers of mental health care take part in service design and delivery, and in the role of consumer organisations.

Hans holds a BA (Hons) in psychology from the University of Groningen, an MA in psychology from York University (Canada), and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, completed through the Department of History and Sociology of Science. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA), the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA) and the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN).