Personal profile

Research overview

I began my PhD in Environmental History at St Andrews in September 2021, under the supervision of Dr John Clark

My thesis examines how Californian medical and civilian reactions to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic were framed by the state’s unique understandings of disease and contagion, as formed by their attitudes towards nature and health. Nearly 30,000 Californians died of flu between October 1918 and March 1920, yet there has been only limited historical engagement with California’s pandemic experiences, and none which consider how existing experiences and understandings of contagion influenced perceptions of the flu. My project fills this historiographical gap and provides commentary on attitudes towards the state’s medical establishment and its early public health measures between 1900 and 1920.

In an October 1918 ‘Medical Meeting on Influenza’ the Los Angeles County chapter of the California State Medical Society confidently stated that despite the flu’s myriad serious symptoms, ‘in California the prognosis is good’. My project investigates how legacies of the late-19th century ‘health rush’ alongside pre-pandemic encounters with Tuberculosis haped Californian understandings of health and identity and thus created the atmosphere in which such a belief (repeated in multiple medical and newspaper articles) manifested. This will include chapters on the legacies of tuberculosis infection for both cultural and epidemiolgoical interactions with influenza during the pandemic; on the contentious relationships between doctors, newspapers, and the general public in the medical field’s fight against quacks and charlatan flu cures; on popular understandings of contagion and infection risk management and the resulting impacts on adherence to pandemic public health measures; and on pervading health myths within the state formed through boosterist efforts to promote California as a naturally salubrious state in the late 19th century.

In light of the recent pandemic and attendant narratives of distrust in the medical and scientific professions, multiple facets of this project are intellectually urgent.

Prior to my time at St Andrews, I gained a BA with first class honours in Modern and Contemporary History from Queen Mary, University of London and an MRes with distinction in Historical Research from the Institute of Historical Research. 

Alongside my PhD, I teach on MO1008: Themes in Late Modern History (c.1776-2001) within the School of History, and also on the Medical Ethics portion of MD3001 in the School of Medicine. Between 2023 and 2024 I was the Events And Media Assistant for the ERC-funded ‘Everyday Dictatorship’ Project which included the production of the Project's podcast, 'Miniatures'. I have also previously worked as a Writing Retreat Coordinator with CEED at St Andrews and externally for the SHRE, and am also the co-cordinator (and previously have taught on) the School of History's Sub-Honours Academic Skills Project at St Andrews.

I have also been the Website Officer for the Northern Environmental History Network since 2022.

Academic/Professional Qualification

MRes Historical Research (Distinction) - Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

BA Modern and Contemporary History (First Class Honours) - Queen Mary, University of London.

Teaching activity

MO1008: Themes in Late Modern History (c.1776-2001)

MD3001: Medical Ethics (School of Medicine)

2024 Sub-Honours Academic Skills Project, School of History (Coordinator)

2023 Sub-Honours Academic Skills Project, School of History (Workshop Leader-Exams)

2022 Sub-Honours Academic Skills Project, School of History (Workshop Leader - Writing, Editing and Proofreading)

CEED Writing Retreat Coordinator

 

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Islay Grace Shelbourne is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or