Due to exhibition construction, the museum will be closed through Saturday, March 7.

Deirdre Cooper Owens is a historian of medicine working at the intersection of science, race, and gender. She is the Charles and Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and director of the Humanities in Medicine program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, as well as a distinguished lecturer for the Organization of American Historians (OAH).

Cooper Owens also serves as director of the Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia, the oldest cultural institution in the United States. Her first book, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology (University of Georgia Press, 2017) won the 2018 Darlene Clark Hine Book Award in African American women’s and gender history.


Cooper Owens’s Lunchtime Lecture is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Institute’s Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race project.

About the Series

Our virtual Lunchtime Lecture Series is for scholars and anyone curious about the history of science, technology, and medicine. Topics range from rigorous to entertaining, and help expand perceptions of the nature of science and how it’s done.

More events

black and white photo of Stephanie Kwolek at a table
March 7, 2026
For Families

Stories of Science: Celebrating Women’s History

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

woman wearing glasses and plaid skirt in front of lab glassware
March 7, 2026
Drop-In Tours

Women in Chemistry Tour

Drop in for a tour highlighting the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history.

illustrated note about a frog
March 9, 2026
Science on Tap

What Frogs and Octopuses Know (That ChatGPT Doesn’t)

Won Jeon shows how AI produces convincing language while lacking the situational awareness that powers the communication of living organisms.

    Republish

    Copy the above HTML to republish this content. We have formatted the material to follow our guidelines, which include our credit requirements. Please review our full list of guidelines for more information. By republishing this content, you agree to our republication requirements.