Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Toine Pieters
Home institution
Utrecht University
Country of origin (home institution)
Netherlands
Discipline(s)
Earth, environmental and climate sciences
History of science and technology
Science and technology studies
Theme(s)
Digital Society
Education & Science
Health
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Toine was a Golestan fellow at NIAS during 2024-2025.
The history of pharmacy is primarily concerned with the long-term evolution of the production and consumption of medicines. Drawing on traditions from a number of allied sciences such as the history of science, the history of medicine, economic history, cultural history and digital humanities it is an inherently interdisciplinary field of research. The aim of the chair is to carry out and stimulate research, and offer teaching in the history of the pharmaceutical sciences, the history of drug research and manufacturing, the history of the consumption of medicines, digital history of science, and the governance of controlled substances in society. Examples of the latter are controlled substances as part of sport doping, and the war on drugs.
Research Project
The Magic Bullet Legacy and Torpedo Fallacy in Medicine
Research question: How have ‘magic bullet’ imaginaries shaped drug research & development and therapeutic perspectives throughout the long twentieth century?
Toine Pieters will research how in the twentieth century people have imagined a better future, attainable through science and technology. He looks into how so called ‘magic bullet’-imaginaries have shaped drug research, drug development and therapeutic perspectives.The means by which healthy futures are projected, pursued or neglected–be it through policy or research focus–affect the way technologies are developed and utilized.
In previous studies Pieterse has shown how miracle drug imaginaries have played an important role as drivers or barriers of drug research, development and use. In this project he will examine how magic bullet visions of scientific and technological progress in Western medicine carry with them implicit ideas about conceptions of disease and its treatment, individual and collective healthy futures, and the good life.
This project will sit at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS), medical and digital humanities looking to three therapeutic domains in medicine: oncology, infectious diseases and mental illness.
Research Interests:
Foundations of Complex Systems; Game Research; Governing the Digital Society; Human-centered Artificial Intelligence; Institutions for Open Societies (IOS); Pathways to Sustainability (PtS)