The Politics of Health
2020 International Health Humanities Consortium Conference

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
March 26-28, 2020

Conference Chair: Jonathan M. Metzl
Conference Co-Chair: Manisha Mishra

Call-for-papers now open! Click here for more information: 2020 HHC CFP
To submit a proposal, please click here: abstract submission form.
Deadline to submit abstract proposals is September 27, 2019.
Register for the conference here.

The sixth annual Health Humanities Consortium (HHC) conference will explore the politics of health and healthcare in the context of world events and a vital 2020 election year. Health is a desired state – we all want to be healthy. But health is increasingly a contested political state as well. Debates about who is deserving of health or healthcare intersect with questions, issues, and themes regarding matters such as race, gender, citizenship, identity, and representation that also lie at the core of the health humanities.

Potential topics that might be addressed include (but not limited to):

• In what ways are health humanities “political”? What are the social missions of health humanities, and in what ways can they address issues such as health equity, justice, and inclusion?
• In our contested political age, how can health humanities promote empathy or understanding of contested points of view?
• How can representations of health in language/literature, film, art, or media uncover deeper understandings of the complex political meanings of health and illness?
• How does a humanistic lens contribute to understandings of issues such as The Affordable Care Act, Medicare for all, Brexit, big data or the rise of identity movements that deny humanity and healthcare to “others”?
• How can a health humanities lens be applied to present-day hot-button political topics that have profound health implications – such as guns, racism, women’s reproductive health, genetics/personalized medicine, war, vaccines, ableism, addiction, or climate change?
• How do health politics differ by country, region or locale?
• How does focusing on the poetics of politics enable collaboration with disciplines such as public health, political science, sociology, anthropology, or economics?
• What are the social and political responsibilities of practitioners/teachers/students of the health humanities in the current era?
• How can we tie in themes and methods from health humanities to examine and analyze the upcoming 2020 election?
• What desired political futures can health humanities imagine for individual and public health?
• How does social media enable, enhance, or thwart political participation?

Key Conference Dates: 
Call for Papers (CFP) Open: July 1, 2019
Registration Open: July 25, 2019
Abstract Deadline: September 27, 2019
Abstract Decisions: November 20, 2019
Conference: March 26-28, 2020

Location:
Center for Medicine, Health, and Society
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37235

Contact Information: Please direct any questions to mhs@vanderbilt.edu.

Accommodations Options:
Vanderbilt University has reserved 50 semi-private rooms, with a shared bathroom, at the Scarritt Bennett Center for $74.58 per night. The Scarritt Bennett Center is a nonprofit conference retreat and special events venue within a short walking distance of the Vanderbilt campus. To learn more about accommodations at the Scarritt Bennett Center, please click here.

Vanderbilt has also blocked off 50 private king suite rooms at the Embassy Suites Nashville-Vanderbilt for a discounted rate of $209.00 per night. In order to take advantage of the discounted conference rate, please book your Embassy Suites hotel room by February 23, 2020. After this date, the remaining blocked rooms will be released into hotel inventory and the best available rate will apply. All rates are subject to a 9.25% state sales tax, 6% occupancy tax, and $2.50 city tax, per room, per night. Embassy Suites will provide a roundtrip shuttle service to the Vanderbilt campus during the conference weekend. To learn more about accommodations with Embassy Suites Nashville-Vanderbilt, please click here.

Vanderbilt has also blocked off 20 private king suite rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt for a discounted rate of $189.00 per night. In order to take advantage of the discounted conference rate, please call the hotel or book online here, using the group code HHCVU. Please book your Hilton Garden Inn hotel room by February 28, 2020. After this date, the rooms will be released to regular sales and the best available rate will apply. All rates are subject to a 9.25% state sales tax, 6% occupancy tax, and $2.50 city tax, per room, per night. The Hilton Garden Inn will provide a roundtrip shuttle service to the Vanderbilt campus during the conference weekend. To learn more about accommodations with The Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt, please click here.

About the Health Humanities Consortium:
The Health Humanities Consortium (HHC) promotes health humanities scholarship, education, and practices through interdisciplinary methods and theories that focus on the intersection of the arts and humanities, health, illness, and healthcare. Our goals are to:

• Promote understanding of the experiences of patients, caregivers, and communities as they are shaped in relation to models of disease, illness, health, and wellness.
• Share practices and scholarship through an annual meeting.
• Educate the public, healthcare professionals, and educators about the history, practice, and study of health humanities.

About Nashville:
Vanderbilt’s hometown of Nashville, TN (BNA airport) is a vibrant, engaging city known proudly as Music City, U.S.A. Along with its musical background, Nashville is a part of growing industries such as healthcare, education, hospitality, entertainment, hipsterism, and technology.

Conference Sponsors:

CU Anschutz (University of Colorado, Denver)

Department of American Studies (Vanderbilt University)