Dan Malleck

Research

I teach and think about the history of medicine. A lot. More specifically, I am interested in the history of drug and alcohol regulation and prohibition; the medicalization of conditions not always considered "medical" in nature; the development and dominance of the pharmaceutical industry; and the changing, socially-framed nature of disease.

My recent book, Try to Control Yourself: The Regulation of Public Drinking in Post-Prohibition Ontario, 1927-1944 was published by UBC Press in May, 2012.  If you want to talk about booze and its regulation, I'm probably pondering this at the pub right now.

I also have an interest in consumerism and modernity, and am co-editor of an essay collection entitled Consuming Modernity: Changing gendered behaviours and consumerism, 1919-1945. It is currently in production at UBC Press.

My current research looks at the development of Canada's drug laws from the nineteenth century to 1911. The project is entitled "Baneful Influences: The origins of drug control in Canada, 1800-1911."

Students interested in doing directed readings on topics like addiction, drugs and alcohol, professionalization of medicine, or state regulation of health, all from historical perspectives, of course, should drop me a line. Note, however, that I'll be on sabbatical from July 2012-June 2013 and therefore unavailable for any kind of supervisions.

If you are so inclined, you can follow me on Twitter, @DanMalleck, where I comment on drug and alcohol policy, amongst other things like brewing and politics. I also maintain a website/blog www.drughistorycanada.com, which focuses on policy from an historical perspective.