"Woman's nature". A Gendered History of Natural Medicine in the German Empire

The project investigates the central and complex role that warnen played in the Naturheilkunde­movement du ring the period of the German Empire. Naturopathy formed the most extensive branch of the life reform movement and is considered the largest initiative for alternative medicine in the German Empire. Warnen were, first of all, an important target group for naturopathic magazines, popular lectures, and self-help books that sold millions of copies. Secondly, warnen practiced as doctors and lay healers, and thirdly, they supported naturopathy through their membership in naturopathic organisations and served as important disseminators. The study incorporates perspectives of social history, history of medicine, body history, history of religion, and history of emotions, in order to examine the following aspects: the knowledge about the female body that was popularized by naturopathy (in opposition to academic medicine), the social background of warnen interested in natural methods of healing, their specific practices and discourses, the development of their local, regional, and international activities, the significance of emotions and quasi-religious promises. Emancipatory dimensions will be explored as weil as racist and eugenic implications. The broad success of naturopathy in the German Empire can - according to the thesis of this project-only be explained by recognizing the specific role of warnen. Regarding the regional scope, the study focuses on Saxony, Berlin, and Brandenburg. However, international networks are also included in the analysis in order to assess the broader impact of individual naturopaths. After all, the German Naturheilkunde had a considerable influence on the international development of alternative medicine. The project not only aims to obtain insights into the history of naturopathy. lt also promises new perspectives on the ambivalent history of the German Empire, which re-emerged as a widely debated topic in recent years.