Medicine, Health and the Arts by Bates, Victoria; Bleakley, Alan; Goodman, Sam;

Short description:

Written by a selection of established and emerging scholars in the field, this volume embraces a breadth and range of methodological approaches to highlight not only developments in well-established areas of debate, but also tracing newly emerging areas of investigation, such as graphic medicine, new methodological approaches to the medical humanities, and the value of the humanities in medical education.

Long description:

In recent decades, both medical humanities and medical history have emerged as rich and varied sub-disciplines. Medicine, Health and the Arts is a collection of specially commissioned essays designed to bring together different approaches to these complex fields. Written by a selection of established and emerging scholars, this volume embraces a breadth and range of methodological approaches to highlight not only developments in well-established areas of debate, but also newly emerging areas of investigation, new methodological approaches to the medical humanities and the value of the humanities in medical education.

Divided into five sections, this text begins by offering an overview and analysis of the British and North American context. It then addresses in-depth the historical and contemporary relationship between visual art, literature and writing, performance and music. There are three chapters on each art form, which consider how history can illuminate current challenges and potential future directions. Each section contains an introductory overview, addressing broad themes and methodological concerns; a case study of the impact of medicine, health and well-being on an art form; and a case study of the impact of that art form on medicine, health and wellbeing. The underlining theme of the book is that the relationship between medicine, health and the arts can only be understood by examining the reciprocal relationship and processes of exchange between them.

This volume promises to be a welcome and refreshing addition to the developing field of medical humanities. Both informative and thought provoking, it will be important reading for students, academics and practitioners in the medical humanities and arts in health, as well as health professionals, and all scholars and practitioners interested in the questions and debates surrounding medicine, health and the arts.

Table of Contents:

Introduction 1. Critical Conversations: Establishing Dialogue in the Medical Humanities Victoria Bates and Sam Goodman Section 1: The Medical Humanities: Britain and Beyond 2. Towards a ‘Critical Medical Humanities’ Alan Bleakley 3. Oh, The Humanit(Ies)!’: Dissent, Democracy, and Danger Therese Jones Section 2: Visual Arts 4. Medicine and the Visual Arts Ludmilla Jordanova 5. Graphic Medicine: The Portrayal of Illness in Underground and Autobiographical Comics Ian C. M. Williams 6. Art in Medical Education: Practice and Dialogue M. L. A. Younie Section 3: Literature and Writing 7. The Medical Humanities: A Literary Perspective Anne Whitehead 8. Reinterpreting the Wound of Philoctetes: A Case Study in Literature and Medicine Patricia Novillo-Corvalán 9. The Heart of the Matter: Creating Meaning in Health and Medicine through Writing Fiona Hamilton Section 4: Performance 10. Performance Anxiety: The Relationship between Social and Aesthetic Drama in Medicine and Health Emma Brodzinski 11. Theatre, Performance and ‘The Century of the Brain’: Influences of Cognitive Neuroscience on Professional Theatre Practice Jessica M. Beck 12. Medical Humanities, Drama, Therapy, Schools and Evidence: Discourses and Practices Phil Jones Section 5: Music 13. Music, Therapy and Technology: An Opinion Piece Paul Robertson 14. The Impact of Cochlear Implants on Musical Experience Zack Moir and Katie Overy 15. The Development of Clinical Music Therapy in Adult Mental Health Practice: Music, Health and Therapy Helen Odell-Miller Appendix: Timeline of the Medical Humanities