‘The Medical’ and ‘Health’ in a Critical Medical Humanities

Abstract

As befits an emerging field of enquiry, there is on-going discussion about the scope, role and future of the medical humanities. One relatively recent contribution to this debate proposes a differentiation of the field into two distinct terrains, 'medical humanities' and 'health humanities,' and calls for a supersession of the former by the latter. In this paper, we revisit the conceptual underpinnings for a distinction between 'the medical' and 'health' by looking at the history of an analogous debate between 'medical geography' and 'the geographies of health' that has, over the last few years, witnessed a re-blurring of the distinction. Highlighting the value of this debate within the social sciences for the future development of the medical humanities, we call for scholars to take seriously the challenges of critical and cultural theory, community-based arts and health, and the counter-cultural creative practices and strategies of activist movements in order to meet the new research challenges and fulfill the radical potential of a critical medical humanities. In the last 10 years, the number of disciplines, subjects, methodologies and individual researchers and practitioners working or associated with the medical humanities has grown J Med Humanit (2015) 36:71-81 Keywords

Rethinking Interdisciplinarity across the Social Sciences and Neurosciences

“…For the emergence of Hubbub, the Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham Universitywhere FC took up a permanent position in 2012 -is important as a node in an increasingly international network of interdisciplinary centres advancing collaborative work across the life sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences (e.g. Atkinson et al 2015;Viney, Callard, and Woods 2015).…”

Going unscripted: A call to critically engage storytelling methods and methodologies in geography and the medical‐health sciences

“…For example, particularly in the fields of nursing and therapeutic patient encounters, the last decade has seen remarkable growth in research, education, and practice drawing from creative, humanities‐driven, and other non‐scientific systems of thought (Sandelowski, , ; Koch ; Atkinson and Robson ; Atkinson et al ; Philo et al ). These methodologies vary widely; they include, but are not limited to, things like critical self‐reflection, narrative medicine, engaged storytelling, poetry during rounds, role play, graphic novels, art gallery visits, active and deep listening, music appreciation, film and literature engagement, digital‐storytelling, visual mark‐making, and theatre—and are particularly effective in efforts to promote empathetic attunement by medical‐health professionals to the lived realities of marginalized peoples who are under their care (Charon ).…”

Critical neuroscience meets medical humanities

“…So for instance, to name just one example, we need more work like the refreshingly rigorous dismissal of the concept of ‘resilience’ by Evans and Reid 44. Further hints as to which concepts might be worthwhile objects of study for the critical Medical Humanities are provided by Atkinson et al 45—for instance, they suggest the development of relational conceptions of subjectivity to counter neoliberal individualism, and they point to work on the specific value of negative emotionality to counter the widespread one-sided narratives of “positivity and praise for heroic survivorship” (p. 77) 45…”