Patrick Singy received his Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science from the University of Chicago in December 2004. His interests include the history of sexuality (masturbation, sadism, modern paraphilias, etc.), the history of medicine (the emergence of modern medicine in the nineteenth century) and historiography (epistemological history, sociology of scientific knowledge). He has published essays in American and international journals, including Journal of Modern History,Representations, Journal of the History of Sexuality, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Critique, Bulletin d’histoire et d’épistémologie des sciences de la vie, Iride: Filosofia e discussione pubblica, and Rivista Sperimentale di Freniatria.