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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Clare HickmanORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Pine is a familiar scent in domestic cleaning products, but how often do we relate it to its origins as an odour emanating from a tree? This article takes a sensory history approach to trace the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century use of the pine forest as a therapeutic space, via the tuberculosis sanatoria to the use of pine scent in domestic disinfectant. By focusing on pine as experienced in this period as a micro-historical subject, this methodology will in turn allow for a detailed consideration of how historical context, and in particular medical conceptions and health concerns, can influence the creation of cultural memory. By following the trajectory of pine from its place in the forest to a commercial product used in the home, this will allow for an investigation at the intersection of environmental and medical histories and provide a framework for the consideration of the relationship of place to senses associated with concepts of health and wellbeing. As interest grows in the development of more effective sensory settings, in particular within healthcare, it also highlights the importance of considering the roles both cultural and personal memory play in response to various sensory stimuli.
Author(s): Hickman C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Medical Humanities
Year: 2022
Volume: 48
Issue: 1
Pages: 104-113
Print publication date: 01/02/2022
Online publication date: 03/08/2021
Acceptance date: 29/06/2021
Date deposited: 05/08/2021
ISSN (print): 1468-215X
ISSN (electronic): 1473-4265
Publisher: BMJ Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2020-012126
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2020-012126
PubMed id: 34344695
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