At the end of the first day of the biennial Conference of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society (ADHS) Mexico City 2022 we interviewed Dr. Paul Gootenberg, President of ADHS, and Dr. Cecilia Autrique, the local UNAM organizer. We talked briefly about the importance of doing this conference in Mexico and what it represented to young academics interested in the social aspect of alcohol and drugs, and about the influence that ADHS has had in past years.
ADHS
ADHS Presidential Address: “Why are We in México? 5,000 Years of Pivotal Drug Histories in Las Américas”
Editor’s Note: This is an edited version of Paul Gootenberg’s Presidential Address at the Alcohol and Drugs History Society 2022 Conference, delivered at Universidad Nacional Autónima de México (UNAM) on 15 June 2022.
Welcome
Thank you/mil gracias for the kind introductions and especially to UNAM and and its renowned Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales for hosting and welcoming us to our international biennial ADHS conference.
It is a deep privilege to deliver this ADHS Presidential Address, particularly here at UNAM, the intellectual heart of Mexico, and even of “las Américas”
So, why are we here in Mexico?
The easy answers, being a beautiful, peopled, world cosmopolis, wonderful food and tequila, and everyday links with drug wars, need not be addressed!
Of course, we’re here mainly for the serious biennial purpose of intellectual exchanges — through new papers, roundtables, and exciting keynotes — around our booming, increasingly recognized field of global drug and alcohol history.
Nominate a Book for the ADHS Rorabaugh Prize!
The Alcohol and Drugs History Society (ADHS) is pleased to issue a call for nominations for the inaugural competition for the Rorabaugh Book Prize. The Rorabaugh Book Prize commemorates the life of the late William (“Bill”) Rorabaugh (1945–2020), a pioneer in the social history of alcohol, University of Washington professor, and a former president and tireless supporter of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society.
The Rorabaugh Prize will be awarded on a biennial basis by the ADHS to the author(s) of a first or second monograph in the English language in the history of alcohol and drug studies (scholars who have published previously in other fields are welcome to apply).
The Rorabaugh Book Prize 2020 and 2021 Call for Submissions
In this inaugural year for the Rorabaugh Book Prize competition, two prizes will be awarded.
Watch 2021 “Kreminar” Videos—History of Opiates & Opioids
In May and June of 2021, the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy and the Alcohol and Drugs History Society hosted and helped organize the second annual Edward Kremers Seminar in the History of Pharmacy & Drugs. The Summer 2021 “Kreminar” explored the theme of Opiates & Opioids and featured six virtual seminars, presentations, and discussions by scholars and practitioners researching and writing about the history and the contemporary status of opiates, opioids, and addiction. The six presentations were:
- Dr. Benjamin Breen: “Three Ways of Looking at Opium: Flower, Latex, Pharmaceutical.”
- Dr. Diana S. Kim: “Empires of Vice: The Rise of Opium Prohibition Across Southeast Asia.”
- Dr. Daniel Skinner in conversation with Kerri Mongenel: “The Humanity of Addiction: What We Can Learn from Families, Educators, and Practitioners”
- Dr. Nancy Campbell and Dr. David Herzberg: “Unexpected Histories of Opioids and Overdose.”
- Dr. James Bradford: “Poppy Politics: Drugs in Afghanistan, Past and Present.”
- Maia Szalavitz: “Undoing Drugs: Harm Reduction, Opioids and the Future of Addiction.”
Each 2021 Kreminar event drew between 50 and 70 attendees for a total attendance of 327 people across the six webinars. The hosts and sponsors of the Summer 2021 Kreminar were: the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the Alcohol and Drugs History Society, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy, and the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Videos of each presentation are embedded below or available to watch on AIHP’s YouTube channel.
Points Interview: David Fahey and the History of ADHS
Editor’s Note: Today we’re excited to feature a Points Interview with Dr. David Fahey, a long-time member—and an unofficial resident historian—of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society. Dr. Fahey is Professor Emeritus at Miami University and the author of several books about the history of alcohol and temperance.
Dr. Fahey, nice to get in touch with you! Members of the ADHS often get notices about new publications and conferences from you via the Daily Register. So how long have you been involved in the organization?
Historians often neglect the history of their own organizations. I will happily provide a few details.
The Alcohol and Temperance History Group (ATHG) was first created at an American Historical Association (AHA) meeting in December 1979. A US Government-funded conference about alcohol history was then held at Berkeley, California, in January 1984—which occasioned the restructuring of the ATHG; its first officers (Jack Blocker as first president); and first membership dues. I joined a few years later and took part in the formal organization after the big Berkeley conference. Early conferences of the ATHG were usually held in Canada where funding for conferences was more available than in the USA (Berkeley in 1984 was unique).
Things used to be very informal. There were very few of us. At various times I was President of the organization and Editor of the journal. At some point, I took the main responsibility for the Daily Register but with no title. In fact, several people got the right to post and very occasionally did.
I agree that we should be paying attention to our own history! What should members know about the early days of the ADHS? Can you share any gems from the organization’s history?
You can read the early versions of SHAD. Also see Alcohol in History: A Multidisciplinary Newsletter, Spring 1980. It provides a brief history.
Zoom Roundtable: The Past, Present, and Future of Drug History
Mark your calendars for the upcoming Zoom Roundtable, “The Past, Present, and Future of Drug History,” on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 from 5:00 PM–7:00 PM Eastern Time. The Roundtable will feature presentations by: Paul Gootenberg, Stony Brook University, “The Globalization of Drug History, 1990–2020”; Miriam Kingsberg Kadia, University of Colorado Boulder, “The Historiography of Drugs …
Mark Your Calendars: ADHS Bi-Annual Conference, Mexico City, 7-10 June 2021
We’re excited to announce the Alcohol and Drugs History Society’s next bi-annual conference will be held in Mexico City from June 7-10, 2021. The conference is a collaboration between the ADHS, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México-Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales (IIS-UNAM) and El Colegio de México-Centro de Estudios Internacionales (CEI-Colmex).
Coming Soon: ADHS Conference 2021: “Rethinking Alcohol and Drugs: Global Transformations /Local Practices”
“Rethinking Alcohol and Drugs: Global Transformations /Local Practices”
Alcohol and Drugs History Society bi-annual conference 7-10 June 2021
A collaboration between the ADHS, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IIS-UNAM) and the Centro de Estudios Internacionales-El Colegio de México (CEI-Colmex).
