On March 4-6, 2024, members of the PHIL shared their work with the Colby community by organizing a series of pop-up events across campus, including research talks, classroom takeovers, interactive workshops, and public conversations. Framing each event was a keyword that connects the faculty member’s research and/or teaching to the critical medical and health humanities. This multidisciplinary field considers human experiences of health, illness, and disease in relation to histories, cultures, identities, and social contexts. The conference’s hosts included courses in Anthropology; Art History; History; Science, Technology, and Society; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition to Colby faculty and students, events featured the work of guest speakers Dr. Hermann Haller (MDI Biological Laboratory and Hanover Medical School), Dr. Wendy L. Miller (Create Therapy Institute), and Professor Sari Altschuler (Northeastern University). Closing the three days of activities was a reflection on the keywords presented and the value of the medical and health humanities to undergraduate education.
The Keywords in Critical Medical Humanities Conference was funded by the Margaret T. McFadden Fund for Humanistic Inquiry and cosponsored by the Oak Institute for Human Rights at Colby College.
A report on the conference, authored by PHIL faculty member Melissa Miller, was published in July 2024 in the Society for the Social Studies of Science’s blog 4S Backchannels.
Conference schedule:
Monday, March 4
11-12 / Coercive Care / Winifred Tate / AY240 / research presentation on jail care in Maine / Grossman 209-210
4-5 / Narrative / Melissa Miller / research presentation on healthcare and Russian graphic novels / Parker-Reed, SSW
6-7:30 / Tote Bag Making Workshop / Oak Institute Student Committee / Greene Block + Studios
Members of the campus community created their own tote bags printed with keywords from the conference, using designs created by the Oak Institute Student Committee.
Tuesday, March 5
11-12 / Reproduction / Kassandra Miller / WG236 taught by Andrea Breau / research presentation on controlling menstruation in ancient Rome / Parker-Reed, SSW
1-2 / Afterlives / Britt Halvorson / AY/ST323 / student exhibition: visual storytelling about medicine and the COVID-19 pandemic / Diamond Atrium
4:30-5:30 / Poverty / Farah Qureshi / workshop with interactive role-playing focused on global poverty and inequalities / Parker-Reed, SSW
Wednesday, March 6
11-12 Art / Tanya Sheehan / AR/ST252 / conversation with Dr. Hermann Haller, Prof. Amanda Lilleston, and Dr. Wendy L. Miller / Colby College Museum of Art, lobby
1-2 / Markets / Inga Kim Diederich / HI344 / research workshop on blood selling in South Korea / Grossman 209-210
2:30-3:30 / Withheld Care / Jay Sibara / WG101 / research presentation and discussion of the legacies of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission Study / Parker-Reed, SSW
4-5 / Keywords / Nadia El-Shaarawi / conversation with Prof. Sari Altschuler on Keywords in Health Humanities and why we need to study the medical humanities / Diamond 122