International Medical Humanities Call for Papers

CFP: Medical Humanities in an African Context

Hosted by Chancellor College University of Malawi, 24 & 25 August 2017

Chancellor College is pleased to announce a 2-day international medical humanities conference to be held at the college’s Great Hall in Zomba, on 24th & 25th August 2017. In Europe and North America, medical humanities is understood as an emerging discipline which explores the social, historical and cultural dimensions of medicine. This conference offers a formal space to further our understanding of how illness, wellbeing, medicine & treatment intersect with the arts and humanities and to encourage discussions about what these concepts mean in an African context. It provides a highly interdisciplinary platform for a diversity of perspectives and inquiries into African concepts of health and wellbeing. Malawi’s own scholars–the late Professors Steve Chimombo and Chris Kamlongera–were pioneers in bringing the arts into conversation with health, community and development. We aspire to showcase the vibrant, contemporary medical humanities research within Malawi and throughout the African continent.

We invite 20-minute papers on the following subjects including, but not limited to:

• The history of medicine and healthcare
• Medical ethics
• Medical anthropology
• Literature, poetry and medicine
• Visual and performed arts and the body
• Representations of illness and treatment
• Communication in health care
• Religious/spiritual perspectives on health

• Sociology of medicine
• The caregiver/patient relationship
• Healthcare architecture and design
• Disability studies
• Medicine and the law
• Globalisation and healthcare practices

Please send an abstract (approximately 300 words) and short biographical note to the conference organisers by no later than Friday 21 April 2017. Proposals and all enquiries should be addressed to the Proposal Review Committee at malawimedhumsnetwork@gmail.com.

Conference details and updates will be posted to https://malawimedhumsnetwork.wordpress.com.

This conference is hosted by the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities at Chancellor College University of Malawi with funding from the Wellcome Trust and collaborators at University College London and the University of Edinburgh’s Centre of African Studies.