Understanding Medical Humanities

CMRS Ahmanson Conference

Medical Humanities is a relatively new and increasingly popular field of knowledge that is yet to be clearly defined. Broadly, it may be conceptualized as a discipline wherein medicine and its specialties intersect, at a given historical time, with the humanities. As such it is a dynamic area of endeavor where the impact of disease and healing science on culture is assessed and expressed in the arts and in the specific language of the various disciplines concerned with the human experience.

This international conference is planned as the first annual UCLA CMRS-sponsored symposium on this field. It is structured as an introductory event aimed at defining what Medical Humanities represents and how it is addressed within its individual disciplines. Given its introductory nature, this conference predominantly addresses the interaction of literature, philosophy, art, art history, ethics and religion with medicine and its specialties from the classical period to the modern day. Particular attention is given to the Medieval, Early Modern, and Enlightenment periods.

Emphasis is on the general rather than the anecdotal. Specific cases are limited to the enhancement or illustration of the arguments presented. Although the conference preferentially attempts to attract academics but topics of interest to the educated general public are also welcome.

Please click here for the conference schedule and registration.

Advance registration is requested at the link. No fee. Limited seating.

Funding for this symposium is generously provided by the Ahmanson Foundation. Additional support is provided by Endowment for the UCLA Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies.