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Jérôme Laubner appointed Maître de conférences at Montpellier, publishes "Vénus malade"
Dr. Jérôme Laubner has been appointed lecturer at the University Paul-Valéry of Montpellier in September 2023. His dissertation "Vénus malade", written when he was a member of the DPL, was published by Droz in November 2023.
At the end of the 15th century, Europe witnessed the emergence of a new disease, syphilis, and with it a host of questions. French, Italian, or American disease, how to name a global scourge that disregards geographical boundaries? How to treat an affliction unknown to the Ancients? How to care for shameful and repulsive patients? While syphilis provoked panic and moral condemnation, the comparison of literary and medical discourses produced between 1495 and 1633 reveals complex and even contradictory emotional reactions towards the victims of the first venereal epidemic of the modern age. Alongside complaints and moral warnings, other texts resonate with laughter used as a parodic tool, a polemical weapon, and an obscene standard to oppose good taste. Illustrating the plasticity of the venereal stigma, the authors whose works are analyzed question the functions of writing when sexuality, especially from a masculine perspective, is put at risk.
Jérôme Laubner's dissertation has already been awarded the Prix Chalumeau. The 560-page work was published by Swiss publisher Droz in November and can be downloaded free of charge as a PDF.
Congratulations, Jérôme!