The Centre for Medical Humanities 2011/12 seminar series began on Wednesday with Angela Woods’ talk On Psychiatric Metaphor: Exploring the Use of Clinical Concepts in Cultural Theory. We were delighted to be joined by colleagues from so many departments, including Philosophy, English, the School of Modern Languages, Geography, Psychology, the School of Applied Social Sciences, the School of Medicine and Health, and even Physics (thank you Professor Tom McLeish).
Professor Marius Romme and Dr Sandra Escher, IAS fellows visiting Durham as part of the Hearing the Voice Futures II programme, brought with them some of the momentum from their incredibly well-attended lecture on Accepting and Making Sense of Hearing Voices held the previous week, and we also pleased to welcome to St Chad’s local psychiatrists and poets interested to hear more about the twentieth century’s intellectual fascination with schizophrenia.
Our series continues in November with Professor Julian Leff discussing “Avatar therapy for persecutory auditory hallucinations unresponsive to medication” (Thursday 10 November, 3pm, Birley Room, Hatfield College; further details coming shortly) and Dr Neil Pickering speaking on the topic Medicine for the Mind (Wednesday 16 November, 5.15pm, St Chad’s College). Dr Pickering, a philosopher, joins us from the Bioethics Centre at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
The Recovery of Beauty, the Institute of Advanced Study public lecture series supported by the Centre for Medical Humanities also continues throughout Michaelmas and Epiphany terms. Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, will give the next lecture entitled “The Pendulum of Taste: Architectural Protection and the Rise of a State Aesthetic” at 6.15 on Monday 7 November, Lecture Room 201, Elvet Riverside.
If you would like any further information about CMH events please visit our website. We look forward to seeing you at future seminars throughout the year.