Dr Nina S. Studer
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drninastuder.bsky.social
Dr Nina S. Studer
@drninastuder.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1.3K following 490 posts
Historian, IEH2, University of Geneva

History of medicine & psychiatry, gender issues & drinking studies in the colonial Maghreb. Current: https://wetdreams.hypotheses.org/ 🗃️🍸

Passionate about literature and theatre.

She/her

https://nina-studer.com
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drninastuder.bsky.social
Dr Nina S. Studer @drninastuder.bsky.social · Nov 10
A list of all my publications can be found on my website (nina-studer.com/work-publica...), but let me tell you about my #OpenAccess publications! #ColonialHistory #GenderStudies #DrinkingStudies #HistoryOfMedicine #HistoryOfPsychiatry 🗃️
Work, Publications, Research - Nina S. Studer
Publications, academic articles, popular history articles, book chapters, reviews and presentations by Nina Studer.
nina-studer.com
drninastuder.bsky.social
My wonderful friend, Cordelia Bähr, co-authored a book based on her successfully bringing a Swiss case to the European Court of Human Rights - the case of the #Klimaseniorinnen. The court ruled that protection from climate change is a human right #climate #ClimateChange #Klima #newbook
Picture is a photograph of a book on a black background. It shows a scene in the mountains, where people put a gigantic plaster on a melting glacier. Around the plaster, there are about 20 people. The title of the book is in orange: "Als die Schweiz ins Schwitzen kam: Die Klimaseniorinnen" ("When Switzerland broke out in a sweat: the climate seniors"). The authors are Brigitte Hürlimann, Cordelia Bähr and Elisabeth Stern.
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Very happy with this lovely article about our exhibition (on the medical history of machines and treatments against wet dreams) at the "Centre Maurice Chalumeau en sciences des sexualités" in Geneva!

360.ch/culture/savo...

🗃️ #histmed #HistoryOfSexuality #skystorians
October 24, 2025 at 8:39 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
And more for people in Switzerland: I will give a presentation with the title "Leaky Masculinities: Imperialism & Nocturnal Pollutions in 19th-Century Medical Theories" at the ETHZ-UZH Research Colloquium in Global and Extra-European History in Zürich next week! Do come!

🗃️ #histmed #skystorians
Screenshot of the programme of the "Joint ETHZ-UZH Research Colloquium in Global and Extra-Euroepan History", on Thursdays, 16:15-17:45, at ETH Zürich Hauptgebäude, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich. At the top, it says "University of Zürich" and "ETH Zürich". Below this is a 19th-century map of the world, showing, I guess, trading routes. Below this map, it shows the first two presentations of this seminar. The first is one by Dr. Lasse Heerten (on the 2nd of October), and the second is by Dr. Nina Studer (Université de Genève), on the 16th of October 2025.
October 7, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
nursingclio.bsky.social
Our book is out!! Happy publication day to our fantastic team of editors and authors.
September 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
If anybody is in Geneva in the week of the 20th of October: Please come on Tuesday, the 21st of October 2025 (5:00pm), to the opening of the exhibition “Masculinity in Question: Remedies and Devices against Nocturnal Emissions (18th to 21st Centuries)” at the CMCSS, Campus Batelle, Bâtiment A!

🗃️
This image shows a black and white, early 20th century French advert for an electronic belt (Herculex, by a Dr Sanden), early 20th century. On the right hand side is the drawing of an older man in formal clothes, while on the left hand side, there is a drawing of two young, white men, wearing only shorts. The one on the left is holding up one of these belts in his right hand, while also wearing one, while the one on the right is on his knees, in the process of getting up, looking up at the other man. The title of this advert is "Regained Virility".
October 6, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
sacrobosco.bsky.social
Me and my wandering womb are thrilled to see the Nursing Clio Reader in print! Kudos to the whole @nursingclio.bsky.social team on an amazing volume!
September 4, 2025 at 2:18 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
There was even the idea, both in Britain in the 19th & in France's North African colonies in the 20th century, of teaism/theism/théisme, a problem viewed as potentially worse than alcoholism! One of my very favourite topics!
susiedent.com Susie Dent @susiedent.com · Aug 21
Word of the Day is ‘theic’ (19th century), defined as ‘one given to immoderate tea-drinking; a tea drunkard’.
August 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Even though outside my field of research, I've long been aware of the adverts for "Salem Aleikum" cigarettes, produced in late 19th/early 20th century Dresden. Today I have come across this bizarre image from 1903 of a horned (?), pointy-eared bearded smoking man. I am at a loss - ideas? 🗃️🚬 #History
This image shows a black and white advert. In the middle is the image of a bearded man. It is a close-up of his face. In his right hand, he holds a cigarettes and swirls of smoke can be seen around his face. He has large pointy ears and seems to have horns. The text says, in German: "Oh, this is a treat. No frills. Just quality. Salem Aleikum-Cigarettes". This image can be found in "Jugend: Münchner illustrierte Wochenschrift für Kunst und Leben", 1903, 2, p. 27.
August 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
I spoke with the wonderful Diana Abbani about my book "The Hour of Absinthe", published as part of the #MECAM blog series on TRAFO (the Blog for Transregional Research): trafo.hypotheses.org/60708

Do have a look! 🗃️🍸 #DrinkingStudies #Absinthe #HistoryOfAlcohol #Colonialism #ColonialHistory #Maghreb
The Hour of Absinthe: A Cultural History of France’s Most Notorious Drink – A Conversation with Nina Studer
Diana Abbani in Conversation with Nina Studer. In her book "The Hour of Absinthe: A Cultural History of France’s Most Notorious Drink”, Studer explores the history of absinthe through the lenses of cu...
trafo.hypotheses.org
August 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
In preparation of an exhibition on 19th-century machines & treatments against wet dreams that we - @wetdreams-hist.bsky.social - are organising in October 2025 in Geneva, I have written - in French - a summary of one of François Lallemand's most interesting case studies for our blog! 🗃️ #histmed
July 16, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
disabilitystor1.bsky.social
Why is germ theory in the same air quotes as "miasma theory," I ask as a historian of medicine who is very very tired
npr.org NPR @npr.org · Jun 14
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently embraces the outdated "miasma theory" of disease instead of the widely accept "germ theory" of disease, which may help explain some of the actions he's been taking.
Ancient miasma theory may help explain Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine moves
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently embraces the outdated "miasma theory" of disease instead of the widely accept "germ theory" of disease, which may help explain some of the actions he's been taking.
n.pr
June 15, 2025 at 3:18 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Came across on of these "in the wild" - in Stockholm of all places! I spotted it in the street, on the wall of the Bistrot "Pastis"! #DrinkingStudies 🗃🍸
Image of a part of an outside wall, during the day. A stop sign can be seen and a lamp. On the left hand side is a yellow poster for Ricard, showing a desert scene, with a camel carrying alcohol and led by a man in North African, heavily Orientalised clothes.
June 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Court cases - many of them murder cases! - are also often "humorously" depicted in these Oxygénée Cusenier sketches in "Le Sourire". In these, absinthe either played a role in the crimes or the defendants referred to absinthe to prove their truthfulness or humanity. Very strange! #DrinkingStudies 🗃️🍸
This image shows a black sketch on yellowish paper. It shows a court room, with the defendant (who has dark hair and a moustache and is wearing a coat) in the front. We see him half from the back. He is holding up his right arm. In the background are two men in dark-clothes, staring at the defendant. Below the sketch, it says, in French: "Swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. - I swear. - Tell us what you know. - What I know? That the one, the only, the best [drink], is Oxygénée Cusenier. Is that the truth?" This image was published in "Le Sourire" on the 09.12.1905, p.11. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. Warning - it is rather gruesome. It shows a group of men in a room. In the centre is a man sitting on a stool, labelled in the description as Jean Hiroux, a mythical criminal in 19th-century France. He wears striped trousers and a white shirt. His head is shaved and his hands are bound behind his back. To his right is an older man in a uniform with keys in his left hand - clearly the jailer. On the left and behind the prisoner are five other men, all wearing black clothes and looking very serious. One of them is talking to the prisoner, while another one does something to his neck - perhaps measuring him? Below the image it says in French: "Supreme deception. Jean Hiroux. - I don't care that they refused me my pardon... But that I should be refused a Oxygénée Cusenier, that's barbarism! ..." This image was published in "Le Sourire" on the 13.02.1909, p.10. This image shows a black sketch on yellowish paper. It shows a scene in a court room. On the right hand side is a group of three men. The one in the middle is the defendant, who is standing up and talking to the judges in the background. He is dark-haired and has a moustache. He wears striped trousers and a dark coat. Behind him is a man in a uniform. In front of him, on a bench, there is another man, perhaps his lawyer? In the background, on the left is a second set of three men, all judges. While two of them smile at the defendant, the one in the middle ("Le Président", older and with a white beard) looks very serious and his hand is raised, in refusal. Below the image it says in French: "Le Président. - So you were drinking before you killed your victim... What did you drink? Absinthe? - The accused. - Yes, mon Président. Unfortunately for me it wasn't Oxygénée Cusenier... The resident [sic]. - No advertising here! Say rather why you wanted to make the corpse disappear. The accused. - Why, mon Président, the cloak was in the way [a pun, because this phrase "l'occis gênait" sounds like l'Oxygénée]... The President. - Once again, I repeat, no advertising here!" This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 16.01.1909, p.9.
June 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
drninastuder.bsky.social
This looks amazing! #DrinkingStudies 🍸🗃
davidwondrich.bsky.social David Wondrich @davidwondrich.bsky.social · Jun 6
It’s aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive! Test copy received.
The cover of The Comic Book History of the Cocktail. Pages from TCBHotC depicting 19th-century bartenders in action. Pages from TCBHotC depicting Popo Galsini, Harry Yee and other great Tiki bartenders.
June 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
dazzaross.bsky.social
Since it's International Tea day, here is an article by @drninastuder.bsky.social on historical fears of tea crazes.

www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tea...

#Drinks #Historians #History #InternationalTeaDay #Tea #TeaDay
In 1930s Tunisia, French Doctors Feared a 'Tea Craze' Would Destroy Society
It was seen as a threat to colonial rule.
www.atlasobscura.com
May 21, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
anthonygladman.com
🔥🔥🔥 TIL that in the early 1800s people thought alcoholism could lead to spontaneous combustion!

(Hat tip to @drninastuder.bsky.social in whose book I read this fascinating fact.)
May 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
campvolant.bsky.social
"La guerre d'Algérie a commencé à Sétif", un texte classique du grand historien algérien Mohamed Harbi.
histoirecoloniale.net/la-guerre-da...
La guerre d’Algérie a commencé à Sétif, par Mohammed Harbi
Le 8 mai 1945, tandis que la France fêtait la victoire, son armée massacrait des milliers d’Algériens à Sétif et à Guelma. Ce traumatisme radicalisera irréversiblement le mouvement national. Cet artic...
histoirecoloniale.net
May 8, 2025 at 9:58 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Another thematic cluster in these Cusenier sketches in "Le Sourire" particularly surprises & amuses me: mountaineering! Oxygénée Cusenier was depicted as a force of energy - for men & women! - both when the mountain climbing was successful & when it was evidently not! #DrinkingStudies #Absinthe 🗃️🍸
This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a scene in a mountain, during the day. A man is shown as having fallen from a mountain, his fall stopped by a branch through parts of his clothing. He is hanging, currently, from this branch. Above him is another man, at the top of that ravine, on his hands and knees, looking over the edge and shouting down to the man. Behind them, one can see a bird in the sky and mountains. Below this image it says, in French: "Be brave! ... I'm going down to the village to get some ropes! ... - Don't forget to bring up a good [glass or bottle of] Oxygénée Cusenier at the same time." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 08.12.1906, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a scene in the mountains, during the day. It shows two figures, behind them trees and the mountains. The figure at the top of the image shows a young woman in elegant clothes, with a hat and a walking stick in her left hand, looking down and smiling at the other figure, a man. She is holding her hat with her right hand and wearing dainty boots. The man is wearing outdoorsy clothes and a hat. He has a mustache and carries a walking stick in his right hand. He is looking up at the woman, smiling. Below this image, it says in French: "Him. - Sapristi, what strength! You can see that before leaving you drank a green Oxygénée Cusenier. - Her. - Sorry, my dear, I took two [glasses]..., one to take me up [the mountain] and the other to take me down." This image is published in "Le Sourire" on the 29.06.1907, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a man standing on two rocks in the mountains, during the day. He is wearing outdoorsy clothes and a hat. He carries some sort of a backpack and a long walking stick. Below him, it says in French: "Drinking Oxygénée Cusenier means drinking the obstacle - There are no more Pyrenees... and the Himalayas are just a molehill for the traveller with a bottle of Oxygénée Cusenier in his bag!" This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 16.05.1908, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a scene in the mountains, during the day. On the left hand side is a cliff face with a man (with a mustache) currently falling from it, feet first. His hat and walking stick and a couple of small rocks are falling, currently, above him. He is looking down, towards a waiter, who is looking up to him. We see the waiter from the back. Next to the waiter and below the falling men are tables. In the back, a couple is sitting at the table. In the very back, another couple is enjoying the view of the mountains. Below the image, it says in French: "Quick, waiter, quick! ... A [glass of] Oxygénée Cusenier." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 17.08.1907, p. 10.
May 7, 2025 at 10:45 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
Really looking forward to this meeting on "Psychiatry, Gender and Race" at the TELEMMe in Aix-en-Provence on the 28th of May: telemme.mmsh.fr?evenement=ps...

I will be talking about gender and colonial psychiatry in Algeria!

#histmed #Colonialism #ColonialPsychiatry 🗃️
Psychiatrie, genre et race - TELEMMe - Temps, espaces, langages, Europe méridionale, Méditerranée
La séance portera sur l’histoire de la psychiatrie en contexte de domination, à l’aune des catégories de genre et de race. Il s’agira d’interroger la fabrique des savoirs et les pratiques de soin en s...
telemme.mmsh.fr
May 6, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
drninastuder.bsky.social
As part of our project into the medical history of wet dreams (@wetdreams-hist.bsky.social) Ishita Pande will speak about "(Wet) Dreams of the Indian Nation: Colonialism, Consumerism & the Globalization of an Ailment" on the 13th of May. Do join us over zoom! unige.zoom.us/j/68123992256 #histmed 🗃️
This image is a poster for Ishita Pande (from Queen's University)'s presentation. It shows a sketch of a dark-haired Indian man with a mustache, naked apart from a loin cloth, sitting cross-legged. It is an illustration from a treatise on wet dreams. It also shows the title of the presentation "(Wet) Dreams of the Indian Nation: Colonialism, Consumerism, and the Globalization of an Ailment", at the University of Geneva.
May 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
When it comes to women who consumed Oxygénée Cusenier, they were often depicted (in "Le Sourire" in the early 20th century) as very elegant & upper-class. As can be seen in the one with the title "Wedding Night", their consumption was however also regularly sexualised! #DrinkingStudies #Absinthe 🗃️🍸
This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It depicts two elegant dark-haired women, standing outside, during the day, in a city. Both are wearing hats. Below the image it says, in French: "- Listen, my dear, I envy you, you should tell me the secret of your cheerfulness and freshness. - [It is] Simply my good stomach. I eat well and digest well: drink Oxygénée Cusenier, like me." This image was published in "Le Sourire" on the 13.01.1906, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows two women standing in a bedroom. On the left, behind the women is a dressing table, while there might be a bed behind them on the right. The woman on the left is a dark-haired young woman in an elegant wedding dress. Her hands are folded behind her back. The woman on the right is an older woman, white-haired, with a tear on her face and described as the mother in the description. She has her left hand on the younger woman's shoulder. In her right hand, she holds a glass. Below the image it says, in French: "Wedding night - The mother. - My dear child, at this solemn and... critical moment in your life, this will be more useful and supportive than all my advice and warnings: drink this Oxygénée Cusenier." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 07.07.1906, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows three figures on a blank background. The one in the front is an elegant young woman, in an extravagant hat and carrying a handbag in her right hand and a little dog on her left hand. She is looking back. Behind her is a man, also wearing elegant clothes, carrying many large parcels. He is speaking with the woman in front of him. Behind him is a boy in uniform - a porter - carrying two large boxes. Below them it says, in French: "No, but... with this, do you need nothing more? - Yes, to water it all, some Oxygénée Cusenier." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 04.05.1911, p. 13. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a room with two women in them, both are wearing elegant clothes. The one on the left is sitting down and seems to be wearing a fur coat. The one on the right - the one living in this place, probably - is standing and hands the other a glass. Behind them is a little table with another glass on, another little table with a flower arrangement and possibly a painting. Below them, it says in French: "The 'Five o'clock tea' is no longer fashionable! The chic hour is that of Oxygénée Cusenier." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 12.01.1907, p. 10.
May 6, 2025 at 9:32 AM
drninastuder.bsky.social
The idea most commonly depicted in these sketches for Oxygénée Cusenier seems to be that women will be more attracted to a man if he is an avid drinker. Amazing! These are just a few examples from the early 20th century by different French artists. Details in the captions! #DrinkingStudies 🗃️🍸
Sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a couple, in a field, during the day. The man is on his knee, pointing his left arm to the sky and with his right harm over his heart. The woman is holding a butterfly net and smiles down at him. Both wear elegant clothes. Below them, it says, in French: "The poet - To quench your thirst for the ideal and for love, to water your heart and your soul, what should I do, o woman? The woman. - Well, my dear, offer me a glass of Oxygénée Cusenier: When it's hot, it's heaven!" This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 26.06.1909, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows a couple inside. Behind them is an unmade bed, on the left, and a washing basin, on the right. The dark-haired woman, wearing a dark dress, is standing behind the man, her left hand on his shoulder, her right hand on his arm. The man - dark haired and with a mustache - is fixing his tie, looking at her. Beneath the image it says, in French: "To be adored by women? Drink Oxygénée Cusenier" This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 30.03.1907, p. 10. This image is a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows several people in the terrace of a café, during the day. On the left hand side, in the back, are two men standing under a tree. One of them is wearing a uniform. On the right hand side, there is a waiter, cleaning a table. In the front is a standing couple, consisting of an older man and a young woman, their faces close together. Both are wearing elegant clothes; the woman wears a hat with a complicated flower arrangement. The man is holding the woman's head in his left hand, while the woman is holding his coat. Below the image, it says, in French: "Listen, do you want to be nice, oh so nice? - I see what it is: dress or hat? - No, just a simple Oxygénée Cusenier." This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 02.05.1908, p. 10. This image shows a sketch, black on yellowish paper. It shows the rough outline of a plane, with a couple in it, in the open air. Behind them is the outline of Paris and the sun, but in the centre of the sun is a bottle of Oxygénée Cusenier. The man is at a steering wheel, while the woman stands half behind him, smiling at him. Both are wearing elegant clothes. Below the image, it says, in French: "To please the ladies. Him. - I'm sure what attracted you to me was that I'm an aviator? Her. - But no, you big silly [man]! It's that you're a great drinker of Oxygénée Cusenier!" This sketch was published in "Le Sourire" on the 06.11.1909, p. 10.
May 5, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
dazzaross.bsky.social
Highly recommend the 'Evelyn De Morgan: The Modern Painter in Victorian London' exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London. One of the Pre-Raphaelites, her paintings and drawings are fantastic, full of myth and symbolism.

#Art #Culture #London
White, neo-classical frontage of a building. GALLERY in black, Roman capitals at the top. Beneath, a long, narrow poster hangs down depicting a woman in flowing peach robes, painted in a classical manner.
May 4, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Dr Nina S. Studer
dazzaross.bsky.social
An appropriate day to post a couple more of our photos of the filming of Andor series 2 on the Barbican Estate in London back in February 2023 - a mocked up shop, and Diego Luna and Adria Arjona.

#Andor #MayThe4thBeWithYou #MayTheFourth #StarWars #StarWarsDay
Space age corner store with alien writing on hoarding, in the midst of Barbican concrete. Several crew milling around. Diego Luna in thick, hooded jacket, left. Adria Arjona in olive outfit and bag, right. Tiled walkway in the background. Camera angle looking down. Gloomy day.
May 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM