What is it about?
This editorial to the first ever special issue on medical and health humanities (MHH) in Africa provides insight into how the field has been growing in parts of the continent. It offers glimpses into some of the exciting research, teaching, creative arts, and activist responses to health care that are taking place and improving what we say, think, write, create, and do about health related concerns and challenges.
Featured Image
Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Disciplinary knowledge and skill is important in addressing or understanding health care provision, health concerns or wellness. Unfortunately, only working in a particular disciplinary silo means that the full complexity of health and wellness may not be appreciated or shared. Providing new ways for people seeking or maintaining health, providing health care, teaching health care practitioners, organising around health, or creating art related to wellness, to work together can change this. Working collectively and collaboratively allows new, more nuanced, insights and responses to health to be formulated - and that is good for everyone's well-being!
Perspectives
As a health historian it is often frustrating to see hierarchies of power and privilege repeated in varying degrees through multiple health concerns - and even more frustrating to see groups of people with ideas and knowledge about health not speaking to each other. The field of medical and health humanities (MHH) provides us with a chance to do things differently and encourage epistemic generosity so we can create new ways of bringing the creative arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences in conversation with each other and with activists and practitioners.
Assoc. Prof. Carla Tsampiras
University of Cape Town
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Inclusion, access and social justice: the rhizomic evolution of a field across a continent, Medical Humanities, November 2018, BMJ,
DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2018-011613.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Inclusion, access and social justice: the rhizomic evolution of a field across a continent
Open access version of the editorial
Special Issue on Medical and Health Humanities in Africa - Social Justice, Access, and Inclusion
A link to the table of content and some of the free articles that are available to read.
The shape of medical humanities in South Africa
A podcast with the editors of the special issue.
MHHA Facebook Group
The Medical and Health Humanities Africa facebook group. Those interested in MHH on the continent are welcome to join.
Inclusion, access and social justice: the rhizomic evolution of a field across a continent
Free access to the editorial.
Medical and Health Humanities in Africa - Inclusion, Access and Social Justice
Link to the table of contents and articles featured (including open access articles).
The shape of medical humanities in South Africa
Interview with the editors talking about the content and process of putting together the special issue.
MHHA Facebook Group
A group for all those interested in Medical and Health Humanities Africa. New members welcome!
MHHA website and blog
The website and blog for the Medical and Health Humanities Africa network with information on events and conferences and newsletters about MHH on the continent and elsewhere.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
