Spaces of/for Health Humanities

10th International Health Humanities Consortium Conference

Abstract: What are the spaces of and for the health humanities? The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered our experience of space, from the isolated spaces of quarantine to the overburdened spaces of the health care system, from the physical spaces where risk is produced and mitigated to the virtual spaces constituted by digital technologies. Travel bans, lockdowns, and vaccine and mask mandates have animated debates about whether, how, and whose bodies may inhabit public space, while demographic data render apparent the uneven and inequitable distribution of resources and risk. The increased turn to virtual environments for education, health care, and communication has allowed for an expansion of access in some respects and exacerbated inequalities in others. In the age of social distancing, e-learning, and telehealth, how are the health humanities grappling with questions of spatiality, and how can we create accessible and equitable spaces—both literal and metaphorical—for engagement moving forward?

Conference information is available here.

Register here.

Co-hosted by the Center for Health Humanities, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Center for Literature and Medicine, Hiram College; and Health, Medicine, and Society Program, Lehigh University