INTRODUCTION Over the years, our understanding of what it means to be mad has evolved. Ancient civilisations held the belief that madness was as a result of spiritual possession; the Enlightenment’s concept of rationality remade madness into an external manifestation of internal grief; in the last century we have started to develop biological theories […]
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Book Review: Final Chapters: Writings About the End of Life
‘Final Chapters’ is the product of a creative writing competition organised through the Dying Matters Coalition, which was established in 2009 by the National Council for Palliative Care. The book invites 30 contributors to describe their reflections on dying. […]
Medicine Unboxed: Students – Call for Participation
Medicine Unboxed aims to examine medicine from the perspective of the arts and humanities, and arises from the view that good medicine demands more than scientific and technical expertise, also requiring ethical judgment, empathy, and an understanding of human experience. Last year saw the first Medicine Unboxed: Students meeting at which students of the arts, health and […]
The Artist in Theatre: On the Primacy of the Subjective Narrative by Jac Saorsa
Drawing Women’s Cancer explores the lived experience of gynaecological illness through a unique interrelation between art and medical science. Based in Cardiff and supported by Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, the project began in 2012 as a collaboration between myself and Amanda Tristram, gynaecological surgeon. Since then it has produced two […]
Dr Ahmed Rashid: “Diseases of the heart: Where theology meets cardiology”
Associations between religion and health have been debated for many years. This interest has been paralleled in the medical literature and has led to the inclusion of religious, cultural and sociological topics into medical school curricula, encouraging future clinicians to adopt a more holistic approach to understanding patients and their behaviours. Much of the research […]
Deborah Bowman in conversation with Leslie Jamison, author of ‘The Empathy Exams’
Join the Editor of Medical Humanities, Deborah Bowman, in conversation with Leslie Jamison as they discuss her acclaimed essay collection ‘The Empathy Exams’ and more. Leslie’s work questions how we understand each other and the concept of empathy, drawing on her time as an actor working with medical students and her own experiences of […]
5th International Symposium on Poetry and Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine, Wimpole Street, London on Saturday 10 May 2014
Reflections from the 5th International Symposium on Poetry and Medicine by Clare Best This year’s Symposium invited us to focus on how we might begin to define the term ‘medical poetry’ and asked if that is even a useful aim. Michael Hulse started the day with a thought-provoking talk proposing that the Romantic ego […]
Film Review: The Lunchbox, ‘Letters, Chillies, and Memories’
Set between an apartment block in suburban Mumbai and a modest office floor, The Lunchbox is a film of understated elegance exploring human emotions and connections. Ila (played by Nimrat Kaur) is a young, middle-class Indian woman who is desperately trying to rekindle a waning marriage by preparing her husband delicious lunches that are delivered […]
Beautiful Science at the British Library: A Review by Isobel Elstob
We are delighted to publish this guest review by Isobel Elstob who visited the Beautiful Science Exhibition at the British Library for Medical Humanities. The exhibition is showing until 26 May 2014. Review of Beautiful Science: Picturing Data, Inspiring Insight Folio Society Gallery, British Library 20th February – 26th May, 2014 Isobel […]
Review: “Contested Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Women’s Shelters and Hospitals.”
We have another great review today, of Lori A Brown’s book “Contested Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Women’s Shelters and Hospitals.” It’s by Sophie Jones of Birkbeck College, University of London, and considers aspects of architecture, landscape & design, and wider ideas about feminism and attitudes to women’s health in the USA. Looks like a fascinating area […]