Distant Voices, Still Lives: Revealing the Experience of Illness through the Narratives of Others Past and Present
Wed 3rd April 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Jordanburn lecture theatre, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Free but ticketed. Booking essential.
A talk which reveals the experience of illness through the narratives of others past and present. Dr Claire McKechnie, Medical Humanities Research, University of Edinburgh, will explore narratives of grief from the past 150 years.
She will focus on three individuals, Emily Gosse 1806-1857, Joy Davidman 1915-1960 and Susan Sontag 1933-2004. Claire will reveal the story of Dr Jesse Weldon Fell and his treatment of Emily Gosse in the mid 1850s through the narratives of Emily’s husband and son.
She will then turn her attention to the famous grief narrative of C. S. Lewis about his wife Joy Davidman’s decline and death. Finally she will discuss the significance of the story of Susan Sontag’s final illness, as narrated by her son David Reiff, Swimming in a Sea of Death.
The talk is part of ‘Ever Present Past’ project at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital developed and coordinated by Artlink. The project explores the history of the Hospital through a series of talks, events and workshops and artist placements throughout 2013 – the Hospital’s bi-centenary year.
To Book go to www.artlinkedinburgh.co.uk, email or phone 0131 229 3555.