Emerging scholars and new research in Southern Africa
The Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi, in collaboration with the Journal of Southern African Studies(JSAS, UK), and the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA, Nairobi), will host a three-day Early Career Writing Workshop on 16-20 July 2018 at Chancellor College in Zomba, Malawi. The aim of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for early career scholars and postdocs to present papers for discussion and eventual publication in JSAS. Participants will bring papers on various aspects of the Southern African region, JSAS’s mandate. The region embraces South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Angola and Mozambique; and occasionally, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Mauritius.
We had the pleasure of attending the first ever medical humanities conference in Malawi. This conference explored the hybrid space of humanities and medicine. We learnt so much and met a lot of people who are doing interesting work in medical humanities. The wide array of interdisciplinary papers presented tackled historic and contemporary issues in medicine from a humanities perspective. They also tried to pave a way forward in the African medical humanities scene.
The presentation panels were grouped according to common themes and disciplines. This grouping was not well-thought which resulted in papers clumped together according to superficial similarities; had the programming been based on scrutinisation of the abstracts, they would have been grouped using deeper similarities that transcended discipline. If we were all attending the same session, this would have been appropriate but because we were spread out in two panels this hindered interdisciplinary discussion because attendants went to panels grouped according to their discipline. For instance, they were three papers on mental health; one was in History, the other in Literature and one in Theology. These papers could have been grouped together instead being put in panels according to their discipline.
The casual vibe of the conference made it a good environment to foster ideas. The keynote speakers were masters in their fields and good orators which made their long presentations interesting and thought provoking. We, two recent graduates, rubbed shoulders with professors and academic masters in their field but we were able to speak as and ask questions though they were our equals. The audience was attentive during our presentations and gave us criticism that we could use to improve our papers. The opportunity to present our papers at an international conference was amazing and we would love for such opportunities to be found more often. However, as fledglings still finding our footing in the world of academia, it would be nice to have more rewards for our efforts. Young people in other ventures such as entrepreneurship and those starting NGOs are given more rewards and incentives as opposed to young researchers.
In the recent years, there has been an exponential growth of artists, NGOs, academics using humanities to solve problems in health. If the conference had been well-advertised we would have had more papers from Africans, and more Malawian attendees (who were not presenting) who were interested in the discussions because it connects to work they are already doing.
Writing the papers was hard because both of us have studied close to nothing about medical humanities in our degree programmes. There is little knowledge of medical humanities in a Malawian context so it felt like we were groping in the dark. But also, individual unsupervised research is something new to us. As a recent graduate, to present in front of professors, doctors and other highly success people and get such a positive feedback was amazing. We are grateful for this opportunity.
Bongani Khoswe (right) presents her paper on the role of the church in mental health in Malawi
The papers we presented, one looked into how the church in Malawi has dealt with depression amongst its members and the other on how women with disability are portrayed in Malawian folklore; both fit into current debates in medical humanities. For some time now, NGOs and government have tried to explore the role existing structures, such as the church and community leaders, can play in solving problems in medical practice; this was reflected in the paper on depression. Though within this debate, this paper went in an unexplored direction which was the Church’s role in mental health.
Wongile Mbano (left) presents her paper on the disabled women in traditional folklore on the literature panel.
Due to the recent increase in attacks on people with albinism, NGOs and the government have tried to change the societies mind-set on people with disability by trying to get it to see them as people instead of “the other”. This paper scrutinises society’s attitudes on disability by dissecting their oral literature on disability. We hope that in future there will be more training opportunities in medical humanities in Malawi, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
– Bongani Khoswe (Chanco graduate, theology) and Wongile Mbano (Chanco graduate, English literature)
At the conference, our friends at the Art and Global Health Center Africa organized an activity during the Creative Space to encourage participants to leave their thoughts, inspirations and sentiments about the medical humanities.
The concept of the “Ideas Tree” stems from a popular art installation form that has been used most recently by Yoko Ono, as a means to memorialize ideas and encourage anonymous expression.
The tree remained outside the Great Hall for the duration of the conference.
The banner for AGHCA (left) and the ideas tree and its ‘leaves’ (right)
Here is a full, unedited presentation of the ideas and sentiments left on the tree:
Inspired by something? Sparked by an idea? Hang it here!
#medical humanities critical, but loving❤ intellectual osmosis
presentation of Patricia Lund about albinism in genetics
Time management has been a great problem for health breaks but cross-fertilization of ideas from all corners of the world makes it a great gathering
Medical humanities can bring back what colonialism took away
New connection with different people who can work together to change the lives of communities
I want more to do with different art forms in mental health
Rebekah, the discussions on road safety accidents and how people understand “accidental”
How the Bible has been interpreted in academia
It has inspired me to return to research on something I am interested in and to fight for my research space
The place we place the tree after it has held our leaves matters – as it is of our ecosystem in a large way!
Find out who caused the AIDS epidemic? Bring them to Justice!
Medicine is such a source of power… we need to acknowledge this more in its practice – to have our ongoing conversation about what it looks like to guard against abuse and promote the goal of human flourishing.
Something is Lwanda’s point on going back to lost cultural aspects to bring back order in society. The use of local dances of cultures to achieve development.
What? ENGAGE How? WONDER Why? Innovate… when?
Focus and network
I am very impressed with Anna’s presentation on albinos and I think we need more awareness campaigns in Malawi about albinos.
To pioneer a medical humanities programme at my university
Health being used for weight loss can lead to shame/guilt if people don’t lose… albino killings may hang on for longer.. road accidents and disease origin in myth
Empowerment of traditional herbalists – updating info
DO NOT FORGET THE ELDERLY IN OUR ENDEAVOUR TO ENGAGE THE ARTS WITH HEALTH AND WELLBEING
THE CONFERENCE HAS INSPIRED ME TO DO MORE RESEARH ON ARTS AND HEALTH.
This conference brings together medical and humanities to achieve one goal.
How did we fail to discuss witchcraft during this conference??? It is holding our people back.
Changing the world is simple as dancing to the tune of our soul. We can change our communities with simple things as dancing for the sick.
The humanities department should offer volunteer opportunities.
This conference has inspired me to finish our research paper and overcome the obstacles.
Suicides among the Catholics is low because of the “confessions” members make to the priest.
We need to teach doctors stories about medicine to tell patients.
Taking medical students to rural communities to learn from different perspectives – a great idea from the College of Medicine
Presentation of John Lwanda on poet in context of medical humanities. I learned that arts has power to change.
It’s been fascinating to see the arts influencing what should be a predominantly science field (health).
ARTS & HEALTH… Artistic work must travel beyond borders of entertainment to represent health issues in our society
Poetry recital in the context of medical humanities
The youth should be involved in economic generating activities so as they should not only depend on being employed… PS
I have learnt about the relationship between health/medicine and humanity and its my role to let others know about the unknown facts which people ain’t aware of.
Have a long rest
The conference has inspired me to think in a multidisciplinary way and seriously consider the collaboration of arts intervention in public health.
THE POWER OF ART IN HEATLH
I’ve been inspired to look further into social research opportunities. Reach the people with the issues
I have been motivated to do research in the area of visuals linked to health and pottery.
More work needs to be done with giving rural communities a voice to do their own health
We need more funding from within our governments to push ideas and not rely on foreign donors to do what we should be doing for ourselves.
Lives as a tool for research – cool
Encouragement that there is space for multiple approaches in dialogue here: easy to belong.
The use of local resources to explore local issues could be worth advocating for. Use of local arts… B.
Bringing together people from various or diverse backgrounds to discuss about on social themes.
there are not a lot of students here
The chance to meet with pioneers in the field of medical humanities
addiction and mental health… these are two issues that need more attention in Malawi
To find a creative way to share the beautiful stories of my friends, family who died of AIDS. The world needs to know them…
The Hayter Committee at the University of Edinburgh offered a grant, which would support fieldwork in Malawi. I partnered up with the Department of English at Chancellor College to provide staff and students affiliated with the M.A. program in Oral Literature on 4 medical-humanities field excursions.
On 31 July, we paid a visit to the The Oral Literature Research Programme in Chileka Blantyre, where we met Dr Moya Malamusi, an ethnologist, cultural anthropologist and musician, and Professor Gerhard Kubic, an ethnomusicologist and professor at the University of Vienna.
This was an extraordinary experience for all of us. In other cultures, music is a distinct art form which is studied separately from literature. We learned in this trip about the Chileka forms of music and how it intersects with storytelling and healing.
Professor Kubic plays the ‘kalimba’, a small instrument which creates a soothing and therapeutic sound
It was an introduction for me about the history of storytelling forms in Malawi but also an opportunity to recognize that this centre is one of the few places that is preserving audio recordings and instruments which are now endangered. It has opened my eyes to the importance of preservation of oral literature and traditional music.
Chisomo Kalinga, postdoc, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
The field Trip to Dr. Malamusi’s Oral Literature Centre in Chileka
The field trip was fun and very educative. Looking through their rich library and listening to both Dr Malamusi and his colleague (who are wells of knowledge on Malawian Oral Literature) taught me a lot. I learnt about Oral literature research and the history of music in Malawi. The part I enjoyed the most on this trip was when we went to the Jacaranda Museum of Ethnographic Objects. There were so many musical objects; most of them were Malawian instruments and some from other parts of Africa. Up until this moment I did not know that we had this many music instruments in Malawi.
Dr Malamusi teaches Wongile Mbano about the instruments in the ethnographic museum.
I have not been exposed to that many indigenous Malawian musical instruments. Because of that I assumed that we did not have many musical indigenous instruments. Just by looking at the instruments, I could see that there were many similarities in musical instruments we have in here Malawi and to those of other African countries. Dr. Malamusi’s colleague explained that the technology of used to make some of these instruments was lost on the new generation. This statement made me realise our people had the mastery and technology to build complex instruments that made beautiful music such as the Malimba. At the end Dr Malamusi’s colleague played the nsansi and sang for a bit. It was beautiful and soothing to listen to. We closed the visit with a video of the Kachamba Brothers.
Wongile Mbano, recent B.A. English graduate, Chancellor College, UniMa
Museum of Ethnographic Objects
An initial step in conducting research is in understanding the research process, which involves delicate procedures of data-gathering and methods of recording in the field. Through the years processes inevitably change as new technologies evolve. Striking a balance between techniques of methodology, the Museum of Ethnographic Objects in Chileka, Malawi, maintains solid awareness of the value of ‘old’ disciplines while catalyzing contemporary technologies in the digital age to ensure a disappearing world of oral literature is recorded.
Instruments on display at the Jacaranda Museum of Ethnographic Objects at Chileka, Blantyre
The Museum is interesting in terms of its intersectionality and its temporality. Various facets of culture are manifested, highlighting that storytelling interlinks with music which interlinks healing practice showing how each has elements of the singular and of the collective ‘oral literature’ incorporated. The archival timeline spans from 1960s to the present day – black and white photographs show the rituals of the Gule wa Mkulu while hanging above these is an instrument made from a plastic carton by a small boy a number of months ago.
Walter Banjamin’s ‘aura’ is evoked in Chileka – an authentic feeling surrounds the objects, both material and abstract, creating a sense of measured endurance, symbolically referring to the people/community as much as to the survival of the objects themselves. The space inside the Museum and its library stands less as a space seeking revival as it does a space of remembrance. While it is at best puzzling to think that the TV took over storytelling practices around the fire, it is rather more conducive to think of the space of oral literature as an evolution in process – the art of yesterday becomes artifact, but rather than buried it is memoried and can in fact be sourced in contemporary art forms of today.
Joanna Woods, Lecturer, Department of English, Chancellor College, UniMa
