The Making of a medical museum: Recontextualizing the Gülhane medical history collection in Ankara, Türkiye

Medical museums play a crucial role in preserving the material culture of medicine, enhancing awareness of public health issues, and integrating medical history, humanities, and art into medical education. Initially serving didactic purposes in the 19th century, medical museums began to reassess and revitalize their roles in the 20th century in response to wars, socio-economic changes, and technological advancements. Along with integrating more interactive musicological practices, medical museums of the 21st century are now addressing issues such as the ethics of owning and exhibiting human remains, the decolonization of collections, and the need to increase information and awareness about public health issues. Medical museums have responded to new challenges with diverse solutions, from developing online platforms and modern technologies to initiating collaborative curatorial projects with local communities. This thesis examines the history and the current challenges facing medical museums in a national and international context. It then focuses on a case study: the Gülhane Medical History Collection, which is located in the Gülhane Research and Training Hospital and is affiliated with the Department of History of Medicine and Deontology at the University of Health Sciences in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye. The Gülhane Medical History Collection aims to achieve national and international recognition and be officially designated as a museum by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. To evaluate and provide recommendations about the current curatorial practices, and potential of the collection, this thesis explores the exhibition strategies used at medical museums in Türkiye and around the world. It then examines many of the objects in the Gülhane collection to determine how they could be recontextualized to address some of the contemporary issues facing medical museums. Following an assessment of the current exhibition space, displays, and technical limitations, this thesis recommends future directions for documenting, conserving, and ethically managing the Gülhane collection. Additionally, it aims to propose practical and sustainable collection management policies and curatorial strategies that are aligned with ICOM's definition of a museum and follow the best practices in managing medical museums.