Tom Behrendt
Biography
Tom Behrendt is a PhD candidate in the Medical Humanities. His academic interests focus on the (cultural) history of medicine, the hospital, and the body.
After completing a degree in philosophy with a focus on philosophy of science, Tom earned his master's degree at the Institute for Cultural History and Theory at Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Amsterdam. In his master's thesis, he examined the biopolitical governance of health through the lense of obesity in East Germany during the 1970s. In addition to various student assistant positions at Humboldt University (2019–2022), his academic career includes a position as research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin (2022–2024). Tom is also involved in volunteer work at Unionhilfswerk, where he supports the development of the company archive.
His current doctoral project reconstructs the genesis of the hospital discharge report between 1900 and 1970 against the backdrop of the development of the modern hospital.