Medical and health history is woven from the stories of hospitals, health care pioneers, countercultural food movements, and the thoughtful scholars and archivists who preserve these narratives. Washington State University offers a remarkable constellation of resources—from rare medical texts and historical artifacts to exhibits illuminating the cultural currents that shaped local food and health practices.
Whether you’re researching the roots of Spokane’s health care systems, fascinated by the international evolution of medical practice, or drawn to the library of Virginia Woolf, whose essay “On Being Ill” was published a hundred years ago, WSU’s collections invite deep exploration.
Among these treasures sits the Guenter Risse Collection, a gift from the renowned medical historian who passed away earlier this year. His personal library of 1,500 historical medical texts is in the WSU Health Sciences Library in Spokane. Listen to a series of oral history interviews with Dr. Risse archived on WSU Research Exchange.