Gail Marlow Taylor

Doctoral student in History, University of California, Irvine

August 12, 2009: First paper presentation on West Nile virus went well: “Virus 956: The Discovery of West Nile Virus in Uganda, 1937-1940.” Submitted the larger article to a journal today and hoping for the best!

May 7, 2009: I’m so excited! California State University has awarded my Master’s Thesis the Giles T. Brown Outstanding Thesis Award. One committee member said it is a “highly original study that shows the relevance of medieval alchemy in the Islamic world to the refined laboratory practices of today.” Al-Razi, you have been good to me.

In a related development, the University of Göttingen has sent me a pdf file of the Göttingen manuscript, the main text used by Julius Ruska for his 1937 translation of the Kitab al-Asrar. To take a look at it, see the thesis page.

Fields of Interest: History of Science and Medicine in 18th and 19th century Europe, World History.

Curent Project: The discovery of West Nile Virus in Uganda 1937-1940 — an examination of the convergence of empire and medicine at a time when viral research was on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry.

Publications:

• New – Jan. 19, 2009! Please take a look at my “By the Book” and explore the many original texts published in the on line journal Intervalles: Interdisciplinary Transcriptions from the Centre Disciplinaire de Poétique Appliqée, Université de Liège – See link at right.
• “Al-Razi’s Book of Secrets: The Practical Laboratory in the Medieval Islamic World,” Master’s Thesis, completed March, 2008.
• “By the Book: Alchemy and the Laboratory Manual from al-Razi to Libavius, 920-1597,” research paper, Welebaethan Journal of History 2008. Lawrence B. Graaf Prize for Best Overall Paper.
• “Tipping the Balance: The Laboratory’s Transition to Legitimacy, 1600-1900,” research paper, Welebaethan Journal of History 2007. Ric Miller Prize for Best European Paper.
• Book Review, The Myth of the French Bourgeoisie: An Essay on the Social Imaginary, 1750-1850, Welebaethan Journal of History, 2007.
• Four encyclopedia articles on the history of medicine for the upcoming edition of Facts on File. Topics: Anesthesia, Antibiotics, Antisepsis, and Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI).
• “Un Nouvel An.” poem, Dec. 2003. First Place, student division.