CfP: Experience, Medicine and Marginalisation

Experience, Medicine and Marginalisation

The Northern Network for Medical Humanities Research (NNMHR) was founded in 2013 with the purpose of connecting individuals and institutions working in this dynamic area of interdisciplinary research. The network numbers scholars, practitioners, health professionals, artists and health advocates amongst its members and held its first Congress at Durham in 2017, and the second at Leeds in 2018.

The third NNMHR Congress will be held at the University of Sheffield in January 2020. The logic of the Congress is simple: it is an opportunity for people who are passionate or even simply curious about medical humanities research to present their work, share ideas, and meet potential future colleagues and collaborators. The Congress is not limited to members of the network.

The call for contributions is now open.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Professor Havi Carel, Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol.

Dr Kirsty Liddiard, School of Education and iHuman, University of Sheffield.

Professor Ankhi Mukherjee, Faculty of English, Wadham College, University of Oxford.

Details of Proposals:

• We invite 200 word proposals for papers (20 minutes) or provocations (10 minutes) on the topic of experience in medicine and the humanities. Proposals from postgraduate and early career researchers are very welcome, as are those from professionals and practitioners who are actively involved in research but not based in the academy.
• The conference aims to be a forum to interrogate and explore the notion of experience from multiple perspectives. Presentations might address theories, interpretations, descriptions or enactments of experience, issues arising from methodologies for addressing experience, including research and arts-based methods, or different ways of thinking about impact and engagement through experience.
• We hope to have a wide range of medical and health-related experience represented at the conference: patients and non-patients, medical practitioners, people involved in different ways in the institutions of medicine and health care.
• Recognising that the very category of experience can be normative, we welcome contributions that focus on the politics of marginalised experiences, and/or the problems (ethical and practical) involved in ‘capturing’ such experiences. The issues in labelling certain kinds of experience as ‘marginalised’ and the power relations that sustain these inequalities are also welcomed as topics for analysis.
• Finally, how we might conceive of experience in open, inclusive, participatory, and accountable ways could also be addressed.
• We welcome presentations in non-traditional formats (e.g. creative pieces, roundtable discussions, etc). We encourage contributions from individuals working in any discipline and at any institution, within the UK or internationally.
• Researchers working on medical humanities projects are also invited to submit proposals for a marketplace session showcasing collaborations in the field. This was a major success in both prior events, and we are seeking to make it a regular feature of the Congress and the work of the NNMHR more generally. The format of this showcase is limited only by the imagination of the participating projects and we invite contributions that showcase ideas, images, publications, artefacts and other resources introducing the project and its participants.

Please submit your proposal for the Congress using this form by 1st September 2019. All proposals will be reviewed by staff at the University of Sheffield, in consultation with the NNMHR Congress Advisory Committee, and presenters will be notified by 30th September when registrations will open.

The NNMHR Congress is funded by the Wellcome Trust and is free to attend. All refreshments will be provided, including a Congress dinner on the evening of 23rd January 2020.

We are offering five bursaries for postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and early career researchers (ECRs)*, covering accommodation and travel of up to £175. Applications for bursaries will be considered following the final selection of panels and papers (please indicate on the Google Form whether you would like to be considered for this bursary, which will prioritise those without current external research funding).

The congress hashtag is #NNMHR2020

If you have any questions regarding the Congress or the call for papers, please contact Chris Millard at the University of Sheffield.

PLEASE NOTE: The organising committee is exploring options for the provision of subsidised childcare for speakers during the conference (through a fully accredited, local, professional provider). If this is of interest to you, please register that with Chris Millard at the email address above. This is to help in gauging interest, to aid in the pursuit of money for subsidy. 

* A person qualifies as PGR/ECR for the purposes of this bursary EITHER if they are currently studying, OR have no more than 5 years of active experience post-PhD (time away for parental leave, health leave, or other reasons unrelated to research are not included in ‘active experience’), and are not in an open-ended academic position.