Epidemics, Broadening, and Redefining Opium & Plague
March 20th, 2024
The Medical Humanities Initiative co-hosted this event with the Global Medieval Studies Program. This event featured papers by Professors Steffen Rimner and Lee…
Past Events
Spring 2024
An Evening with Sara Nović, A Lannan Literary Festival Event
March 20th, 2024
The Medical Humanities Initiative co-sponsored an event part of the Lannan Literary Festival: The Writer in the World featuring Sara Nović, author of bestselling novel True Biz and deaf rights’…
Work and Life in Crisis: The Medical Humanities Responds to COVID-19
March 14th, 2024
Hosted by Medical Humanities Visiting Scholar Cora Salkovskis, this medical humanities colloquium featured scholarship and discussions from Johns Hopkins University historian of medicine Graham…
Life in the Tar Seeps: A Lecture and Book Signing
March 12th, 2024
Former Georgetown English Professor Gretchen E. Henderson discussed her new book Life in the Tar Seeps, where Great Salt Lake was a watershed for reperceiving overlooked places to approach…
Conversation in Medical Humanities with Professor Michael Parker and Visiting Scholar Cora Salkovskis
February 20th, 2024
Professor Michael Parker and Medical Humanities Visiting Scholar Cora Salkovskis presented and discussed their current work and methodologies in the medical…
Fall 2023
Insider/Outsider: The Anatomy of Identity Exhibition
December 4th, 2023
Professor Langley and Professor Sangastiano’s students in their class Insider/Outsider: The Anatomy of Identity hung their work on Thursday evening in the Ellipsis Gallery (Walsh Building 2nd…
Conversation in Medical Humanities with Professor Langley and Professor Mendenhall
November 28th, 2023
On November 28th, the first in a series of Conversations in Medical Humanities events was held. The Conversations in Medical Humanities series will be a sequence of events where faculty will share…
A Reading and Conversation with V.V. Ganeshananthan, Author of Brotherless Night
November 16th, 2023
On November 16, the Medical Humanities Initiative held an event with V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of Brotherless Night, a novel that follows the perspective of a young girl who wants to…
The North of Ireland, Modernism, and the Medicalization of Sex with the Global Irish Studies Initiative
November 1st, 2023
On November 1st, Dr. Lloyd Meadhbh Houston gave a talk on The North of Ireland, Modernism, and the Medicalization of Sex with the Global Irish Studies Initiative. This seminar explores the ways in…
Madness and/as Divine History: Sign, Symptom, and Sovereignty in Contemporary Chinese Mediumship and Charismatic Christianity with Professor Emily Ng
October 26th, 2023
On October 26th, Emily Ng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, presented a talk on Madness and/as Divine History: Sign, Symptom, and Sovereignty…
Screening and Discussion of Takeover! The Young Lords’ Historic 1970 Takeover of Lincoln Hospital with Disability Studies
October 23rd, 2023
A screening and discussion of Takeover! The Young Lords’ Historic 1970 Takeover of Lincoln Hospital, with Director Emma Francis-Snyder and Young Lords Member Mickey Melendez took place on October…
Lannan Center Reading & Talk Featuring Rabih Alameddine
October 17th, 2023
On October 17th, Lannan Visiting Chair Rabih Alameddine gave a talk on his most recent book The Wrong End of the Telescope. The Wrong End of the Telescope won the 2022 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction…
First Annual Medical Humanities Fall Faculty Retreat
October 17th, 2023
The first annual Medical Humanities fall faculty retreat was held on October 17, 2023 with great discussion and community building.…
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan Speaks at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Grand Rounds
October 13th, 2023
On October 13th, Dr. Krishnan gave a talk at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on Medical Detectives: A History of Diagnosis and the Stories Doctors Tell About Ourselves.…
Spring 2023
1st Annual Medical Humanities Research Showcase
May 2nd, 2023
On May 2nd, 2023, Medical Humanities hosted our first annual research showcase celebrating the scholarship from this year’s senior capstones and research fellowships. Congratulations to our…
Epidemic Millennium Hosted by Dr. Timothy Newfield
April 21st, 2023
In April 2023, Core Faculty Dr. Timothy Newfield hosted a 22-talk, 2-day meeting that brought together scholars from many disciplines, including History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Paleopathology,…
Art, Humor, and Gender in the Second World War Plastic Surgery Ward
April 14th, 2023
Dr. Christine Slobogin (CAS ‘16) is a health humanities scholar who uses art and visual culture as a way to understand ethics, emotion, medicine, and gender. She was an Art History and English…
Lannan Symposium: Reading and Writing the Body
February 6th, 2023
Pictured left to right: Rabih Alameddine, Meghan O’Rourke, Daniel Marchalik, and Tope Folarin. In February 2023, Medical Humanities collaborated with the Lannan Center on the Lannan…
Fall 2022
Christopher King Will Be Honored at the National Association of Health Services Executives – Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter’s 2022 Healthcare Leaders Reception
September 26th, 2022
On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, the National Association of Health Services Executives – Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter held its annual celebration of healthcare executives, recognizing distinguished healthcare leaders for their contributions in their respective communities. Dr. Christopher King was one of the 2022 Distinguished Honorees.…
A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah
September 14th, 2022
This event, co-sponsored by the Lannan Center and the African Studies Program, featured Tanzanian novelist and Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah in conversation with Aminatta Forna.…
How to Have a Conversation, Episode 1: “We Were Confronting Each Other and We Were Being Brave”, María José Pareja Rozo Explores How In Your Shoes Facilitates Conversations
August 31st, 2022
María José Pareja Rozo, Graduate Student of the Medical Humanities Initiative in the 2021-2022 academic year, launched How to Have a Conversation, a podcast about how the arts and humanities engage us in conversation. The pilot episode focuses on the In Your Shoes project, co-created by Derek Goldman.…
A Spotlight On: Ethics, Biosecurity and Genomic Data – James Giordano, Pellegrino Centre for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Centre
August 30th, 2022
James Giordano was featured on a Front Line Genomics’ “spotlight on” interview, which centered around about ethics, biosecurity and our genomic data. He discussed the biosecurity risks of genomic data, where biosecurity responsibilities lie and the dangers of precision pathologies.…
Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski Feature Film, Co-Written and Co-Directed by Derek Goldman, Premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
July 24th, 2022
Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, the celebrated play written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, has been developed into a cinematic adaptation, which premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 24, 2022. The project was directed by Goldman and Jeff Hutchens, produced by documentary filmmaker Eva Anisko, and with David Strathairn reprising his role as Karski, all of whom attended the premier. The post-film Q&A was moderated by Carey Perloff, former Artistic Director of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.…
Spring 2022
John McNeill Presented his Work at the Universität Bielefeld’s Society – Knowledge – Environment Colloquium
June 28th, 2022
John McNeill presented his work on the Global Environmental History of the Industrial Revolution, at the Society – Knowledge – Environment Colloquium (Gesellschaft – Wissen – Umwelt Kolloquium), hosted online by Universität Bielefeld.…
Press the Button: Lifelines, Featuring Elisa Reverman
June 13th, 2022
In this episode of the Press the Button podcast, Lovely Umayam and Elisa Revernman talk about the Bombshelltoe Collective‘s Lifelines Project, a collection of personal reflections about the experiences of nuclear policymakers and technical practitioners during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.…
James Giordano and Maggie Little, Amongst the Faculty Teaching Intensive Bioethics Course this Summer
June 11th, 2022
James Giordano and Maggie Little were part of the faculty teaching the Intensive Bioethics Course (IBC) 44, which took place at Georgetown University on June 9-11, 2022.…
Nicoletta Pireddu Talks with Jhumpa Lahiri about her Most Recent Work
May 26th, 2022
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri discussed with Nicoletta Pireddu her most recent work, Translating Myself and Others, at the Sixth & I cultural center.…
Lakshmi Krishnan and Vinayak Jain Were Part of the 2022 Teaching, Learning & Innovation Summer Institute
May 24th, 2022
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan and MWHC Internal Medicine Resident Vinayak Jain presented their work on “Critical Pedagogies in Medical Education” at the 2022 Teaching, Learning & Innovation Summer Institute (TLISI).…
Dr. Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Carnivalesque Exhibit was Presented at the Spagnuolo Gallery
May 23rd, 2022
Dr. Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Carnivalesque exhibit was on display in the Walsh building Suite 102 between August 25, 2021 and May 23, 2022. Her work is inspired by sideshows, freak shows, circuses, and the beach boardwalks, from Coney Island to the Jersey shore.…
Emily Mendenhall Presents Her Book Unmasked in the New Books in Science, Technology, and Society podcast
May 23rd, 2022
Emily Mendenhall tells host Austin Clyde the story of her most recent book, Unmasked: COVID, Community and the Case of Okoboji from the New Books in Science, Technology, and Society podcast.…
Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski Was Performed at Georgetown University
May 22nd, 2022
After acclaimed runs in D.C. and Chicago, The Lab’s original play, “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski”, co-written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, was presented at the Davis Performing Arts Center between May 12 and May 22, 2022.…
Double Visions: Aminatta Forna and Laila Lalami at the 2022 PEN America: World Voices Festival
May 14th, 2022
The second day of the 2022 PEN America: World Voices Festival featured Aminatta Forna in conversation with Pulitzer Prize Finalist Laila Lalami. Both of these authors draw from their own lives to explore the desire for belonging in boundary-crossing experiences centered on identity, notions of place, and questions of origin. Together, they discussed how their nonfiction works document life on the edges of belonging—across cultures, countries, and eras.…
Aminatta Forna is One of Nearly 100 Authors Gathering at the PEN America Emergency World Voices Congress of Writers
May 13th, 2022
On May 10, 2022, PEN America published a press release convening the Emergency Congress of Writers in Response to the War in Ukraine and Other Global Crises, which announced the gathering of nearly 100 authors, including Aminatta Forna, at the United Nations to Weigh Free Expression and the Role of Writers Amid Upheaval, on May 13.…
Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah in Conversation with Aminatta Forna and Others at the 2022 PEN America: World Voices Festival
May 13th, 2022
The opening night of the 2022 PEN America: World Voices Festival celebrated the work of Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, in his first appearance in the United States after being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature last October. This event, which took place in New York on May 13, featured readings, performances, and a conversation with Aminatta Forna, Nadifa Mohamed, Esau Pritchett, Alsarah, and others.…
The Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program and the Georgetown Department of Mission and Pastoral Care Sponsored the 7th Annual Poetry Café
April 21st, 2022
On April 21, 2022, a group of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital patients, caregivers, associates and community members gathered online for the 7th annual Poetry Café. This annual event is sponsored by the Arts & Humanities Program, directed by Julia Langley, and the Department of Mission and Pastoral Care.…
Ella Castanier and Saba Nia Presented their Research at the 2022 Colloquium for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, Hosted by Georgetown College
April 21st, 2022
Ella Castanier (COL’24) and Saba Nia (COL’23) presented their research at the 2022 Colloquium for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, which took place on April 21, 2022.…
Emily Mendenhall Presented Her Latest Book at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
April 19th, 2022
Emily Mendenhall spoke about newest book, Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.…
Social Science & Medicine – Mental Health Video Podcast: Emily Mendenhall on Flourishing and Health in Critical Perspective
April 13th, 2022
Emily Mendenhall and Sarah S. Willen talk about “Flourishing and Health in Critical Perspective: An Invitation to Interdisciplinary Dialogue,” the first series of the Social Science & Medicine – Mental Health journal. The conversation centers around how interdisciplinary dialogue can improve the way we study flourishing and health – and the clinical and policy interventions we propose.…
Iowa Public Radio – Talk of Iowa: Emily Mendenhall on When Okoboji Became a COVID-19 Hotspot
April 8th, 2022
Emily Mendenhall joins host Charity Nebbe to share what she learned when she studied the pandemic in her hometown — Okoboji —, for her book Unmasked: COVID, Community and the Case of Okoboji.…
Public Dialogue around Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Carnivalesque
April 7th, 2022
On April 7, 2022, the Department of Art and Art History and Georgetown College hosted a public dialogue around Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Carnivalesque.…
The Annual Maloy Distinguished Lecture on Global Health | Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji by Emily Mendenhall
April 4th, 2022
On April 4 , 2022, the Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA) Program, in partnership with the Global Health Initiative and the Mortara Center for International Studies, will host The Annual Maloy Distinguished Lecture on Global Health. Join the panel discussion of Emily Mendenhall’s newest book, Unmasked: COVID, Community, and the Case of Okoboji.…
COVID, Quickly, Episode 27: “Second Boosters, Masks in the Next Wave and Smart Risk Decisions”, Scientific American Looks at Emily Mendenhall’s Research About Attitudes Toward Masks
April 1st, 2022
In this episode of the “COVID, Quickly”, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman look at Emily Mendenhall’s research on people’s attitudes towards masks, to understand how the decision to wear a mask reflects people’s perceptions of risk and views about government.…
The Georgetown Medical Humanities Initiative Co-Sponsored the 2022 Health Humanities Conference
March 28th, 2022
The Georgetown Medical Humanities Initiative was one of the sponsors of the 2022 Health Humanities Conference, which took place on March 25, 26 and 27, 2022, and was co-hosted by the Center for Health Humanities, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; the Center for Literature and Medicine, Hiram College; and the Health, Medicine, and Society Program, Lehigh University.…
“In Your Shoes: Reckoning with Our Past/Imagining Our Future“ Closes the 2022 Lannan Symposium “Beyond Identity: Reimagining the American Narrative”
March 23rd, 2022
This performance, which was the closing event of the 2022 Lannan Symposium, “Beyond Identity: Reimagining the American Narrative,” displayed The Lab’s award-winning In Your Shoes methodology, created and developed around the world by Derek Goldman, in which participants have deep, open conversations around a topic and then perform one another’s perspectives.…
Launch of Emily Mendenhall’s New Book Unmasked
March 19th, 2022
On March 19, 2022, Emily Mendenhall and Rebecca Katz met at the Politics and Prose independent bookstore to discuss her recently launched book, Unmasked.…
Laura Hartmann-Villalta Co-Chaired a Roundtable and Presented Her Work at the Northeast Modern Language Association 53rd Annual Convention
March 13th, 2022
Laura Hartmann-Villalta co-chaired the New Directions in Feminist Pedagogy Roundtable and presented her paper “Pairing Up: Obstacles for Peer Mentoring and How to Overcome Them” at the the Northeast Modern Language Association 53rd Annual Convention, which took place between March 10 and 13, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.…
NutrireCoLab Episode 6: Emily Mendenhall Interviews Lauren Carruth about her New Book Love and Liberation
March 2nd, 2022
Emily Mendenhall interviews medical anthropologist Lauren Carruth about her decades of work in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Carruth describes how she traveled around the country working on medical and humanitarian aid. She delves into the complexities through which love and liberation get revealed in the everyday work of local humanitarian laborers.…
LinkedIn Live: MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing with Dr. Daniel Marchalik
March 1st, 2022
On Tuesday, March 1 at 12:00 p.m., the MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing hosted its first LinkedIn Live.…
NutrireCoLab Episode 7: Interview with Professor Emily Mendenhall about her New Book Unmasked
March 1st, 2022
Lauren Carruth interviews Emily Mendenhall about how people in her hometown in northwest Iowa responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. She describes why people unmasked and how social relations within the community played out over the course of the pandemic. Many people were very cautious, while some people ignored public health recommendations for personal gain.…
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Life’s Big Questions
February 22nd, 2022
In this event, held online on February 22, 2022 and hosted by the Georgetown Humanities Initiative, an interdisciplinary panel of world-renowned experts addressed the issue of uncertainty in human existence.…
Stockdale Radio: James Giordano on the Ethics of Brain Science
February 21st, 2022
The third episode of Stockdale Radio three-part series on brain science and technology in relation to military applications.…
Stockdale Radio: James Giordano on Weaponizing the Brain
February 14th, 2022
The second episode of Stockdale Radio three-part series on brain science and technology in relation to military applications.…
Emily Mendenhall Talked at the Public Health Conversation on Mental Health and Trauma: Context and Consequences, at the Boston University School of Public Health
February 14th, 2022
Emily Mendenhall was a speaker at the Boston University School of Public Health’s public health conversation on “Mental Health and Trauma: Context and Consequences”, presenting her work on the session centered on “Placing trauma in a social determinants of health framework”.…
NutrireCoLab Episode 5: Edna Bosire in Conversation with Emily Mendenhall on her Work at the Intersection of Health, Nutrition, Anthropology, and Health Systems
February 14th, 2022
Emily Mendenhall interviews her longtime colleague Edna Bosire about her personal journey in the field of anthropology, and her work at the intersection of health, nutrition, anthropology, and health systems. Bosire also provides insights into her work as an ethnographer of health policy and systems in Malawi and in her work with Health Systems Global.…
Scrub In Podcast, Episode 9: Getting Centered on Wellbeing, with Dr. Daniel Marchalik
February 8th, 2022
This episode of the Scrub In podcast focuses on the new MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing. Host Crystal Morales, one of the leaders of this new Center, talks with Dr. Daniel Marchalik, its executive director.…
Christopher King Moderated Health Affairs Event about Structural Racism and Health Outcomes in DC
February 7th, 2022
On Monday February 7, 2022, Dr. Christopher King, along with Amanda Michelle Gomez, moderated the “Race, Place, And Structural Racism: A Review Of Health And History In DC” discussion, hosted by Health Affairs. Dr. King provided historical background on the relationship between structural racism and historical events socially, economically, and politically disenfranchised Black residents in the District of Columbia, which have yielded stark differences in health outcomes by race and place.…
Stockdale Radio: James Giordano on What Is Brain Science
February 7th, 2022
The first episode of Stockdale Radio three-part series on brain science and technology in relation to military applications.…
Laura Hartmann-Villalta Presented Her Work at the Modern Language Association 2022 Convention
January 7th, 2022
Laura Hartmann-Villalta presented her work on care at the Keywords in English and Anglophone Studies panel at the Modern Language Association 2022 Convention, which took place in Washington, DC, and online from 6 to 9 January, 2022. The panel covered topics that included the digital humanities, the medical humanities, literature and the global, care work, and sound studies.…
Fall 2021
Dr. Christopher King Moderated the Pandemic Response & Insights Panel at the DC Health Equity Summit 2021
December 9th, 2021
At the DC Health Equity Summit 2021, which was held on December 9, 2021, Dr. Christopher King moderated the discussion between Laura Zeilinger, Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes, Dr. Bren Elliott and Lupi Quinteros-Grady at the Pandemic Response & Insights panel.…
Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Fall Lecture Series: Histories of the Body in Art, Science, and Society Featured Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan’s Work
November 22nd, 2021
On November 22, 2021, Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan presented her lecture “Medical Flaneurs: Cosmopolitan Paris and the American Clinical Imagination” in the Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Fall Lecture Series: Histories of the Body in Art, Science, and Society.…
Theodora Danylevich Spoke at Panel on Disability and Queerness in Academia at the American Studies Association 2021 Annual Meeting
November 14th, 2021
Theodora Danylevich spoke at the “CDSC Professionalization Workshop: Surviving Academia, or, How Good Are Your Boundaries?” panel at the American Studies Association 2021 Annual Meeting, with the theme “Creativity within Revolt”, which was held virtually from 11 to 14 November, 2021.…
Aminatta Forna in Conversation with John Freeman
November 9th, 2021
On November 9th, 2021, the Lannan Center presented a reading and talk featuring author Aminatta Forna and editor John Freeman to discuss her recently launched book, The Window Seat.…
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan Was a Speaker at the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine’s 14th International Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference
October 26th, 2021
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan was a speaker at the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine’s 14th International Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference. The event took place between October 25 and 27, 2021, with the theme of Reducing Disparities; Improving Diagnosis.…
Maggie Little Moderated Panel on Approaches to Managing Trustworthy AI
October 21st, 2021
Maggie Little moderated a panel on approaches to managing trustworthy AI as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework workshop.…
Healing with Poisons: The Circulation of Medical Knowledge in Medieval China – Asia in Depth Seminar
October 7th, 2021
During China’s formative era of pharmacy, poisons were strategically deployed as healing agents to cure everything from chills to pains to epidemics. Focusing on the early Tang period (7th and 8th centuries), in this talk Professor Yan Liu (SUNY-Buffalo) illustrates how the court regulated the use of poisons and commissioned new medical treatises to achieve effective governance.…
The Hoya Podcast: Community Corner: Upcoming Play Remembers Life, Legacy of Jan Karski, featuring Derek Goldman
September 29th, 2021
The Hoya talks with Derek Goldman about Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski and the life of World War II hero, Holocaust witness, and Georgetown University professor Jan Karski. Goldman shares the story of Remember This’s origin and evolution, and his considerations when writing and directing this visceral play.…
An Evening with Acclaimed Writer Sofi Oksanen
September 21st, 2021
Virtual reading and conversation with one of the most awarded literary authors in Scandinavia, Finnish-Estonian novelist and playwright , Sofi Oksanen. Moderated by Lannan Center Director, Aminatta Forna.…
The Good Life at the End of Life
September 20th, 2021
Discussion on medical and spiritual views on the meaning of the good life during the last stages of life. Speaking to the issue were Devan Stahl (Bioethics and Religion, Baylor University) and Michael Pottash (Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Georgetown University).…
Infectious Historians Podcast, Episode #78: Covid in Iowa with Emily Mendenhall
September 17th, 2021
Emily Mendenhall joins Merle Eisenberg and Lee Mordechai to discuss Covid in her hometown in northwest Iowa.…
COVID, Quickly, Episode 14: “Best Masks, Explaining Mask Anger, Biden’s New Plan”, Scientific American Tackled Emily Mendenhall’s Research
September 10th, 2021
In this episode of Scientific American’s podcast series “COVID, Quickly”, senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman explore Emily Mendenhall’s research on mask rejection in Okoboji, Iowa.…
ASHA Voices Podcast: Confronting Health Care Disparities, featuring Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson, Dr. Christopher King, and Dr. Deliya Wesley
September 2nd, 2021
In the ASHA Voices podcast, Georgetown Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson, Dr. Christopher King and Dr. Deliya Wesley explain how the COVID-19 pandemic has been drawing public attention to disparities in care that have always existed, and they shared how clinicians can confront these inequities.…
Always Take Notes Podcast, Episode 115: Aminatta Forna
August 24th, 2021
Aminatta Forna speaks with the Always Take Notes hosts, Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, about her early work at the BBC, the similarities between creative non-fiction and fiction and her decision to take up a post at Georgetown University.…
Third Culture Africans Podcast: Aminatta Forna, Changing the Narrative on Identity, Grief, and Appropriation
August 23rd, 2021
Aminatta Forna talks with Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao about about the impact words can have on people, why she thinks appropriation can cause great damage to the literary and arts world, and why the elevation of victimhood does nothing for actual progress.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Work Featured in The Parade Is Coming Exhibit, at the Studio Place Arts Gallery
August 19th, 2021
Dr. Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s work was on display in The Parade is Coming exhibit, which was hosted by the Studio Place Arts Gallery between July 7 and August 19, 2021.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Work Featured in Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition’s The Art of Coney Island
August 15th, 2021
Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s work was featured in The Art of Coney Island, a show celebrating the 100 artists and performers with over 300 works of art spread across the spacious galleries of Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition.…
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan Featured as One of the Workshop Speakers at the 2021 Lisa J. Raines Grand Challenge Fellowship
August 13th, 2021
The 2021 Lisa J. Raines Grand Challenge Fellowship funded undergraduate students to conduct independent summer research projects engaging with the grand challenge of “Health and Humanity.” In addition to conducting their own projects, fellows came together as a cohort and shared their research, found exciting cross-disciplinary touch points, and learned from and network with faculty working in the field, including Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan, who presented her lecture “A Career in Medical Humanities: From the Archive to the Clinic.”…
COVIDCalls Podcast, Episode #320: Medical Humanities, Literature, COVID-19 w/Guest Host Jacob-Steere Williams featuring Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan and Dr. Lorenzo Servitje
August 12th, 2021
A daily discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic featuring Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan and Dr. Lorenzo Servitje – hosted by Dr. Scott Gabriel Knowles, a historian of disasters at KAIST in Daejeon, South Korea.…
Infectious Historians Podcast, Episode #72: Climate Change and the Globalization of Disease in the Early Middle Ages with Tim Newfield
July 29th, 2021
Timothy Newfield talks to Merle Eisenberg and Lee Mordechai about the connected histories of climate change and diseases that become pandemics, focusing on the early medieval and late antique periods.…
Ethical Research Podcast Episode 9: Dr. Maggie Little on Research During Pregnancy
July 21st, 2021
Maggie Little talks with Dr. Ran Goldman about the exclusion of pregnant women from medical research.…
Radio New Zealand’s Saturday Morning Podcast: Aminatta Forna: Observations from the Window Seat
July 10th, 2021
Aminatta Forna talks with Radio New Zeland’s podcast “Saturday Morning”’s host, Kim Hill, about her most recent book, The Window Seat: Notes From A Life In Motion.…
Spring 2021
Dr. Christopher King Speaks to WAMU 88.5 about the Health Gap between Black and White Seniors in D.C.
June 22nd, 2021
Dr. Christopher King speaks to WAMU 88.5 about the racial health gap between Washington D.C.’s 50+ black and white residents. The health gap results in greater health complications for older Black Washingtonians compared to their white peers.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano Presented her Work at the Popular Culture Association’s 2021 Conference
June 5th, 2021
On June 3, 2021, Toni-Lee Sangastiano presented her talk titled “Coney Island as a Perpetual Heterotopia”, at the 2021 Popular Culture Association’s Annual Conference.…
Maggie Little and James Giordano Spoke at Kennedy Institute of Ethics 50th Anniversary Symposium on Bioethics
June 5th, 2021
Maggie Little and James Giordano spoke at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics 50th Anniversary Symposium on Bioethics, with the theme of “A New Era of Bioethics At Georgetown”. The symposium was held in Georgetown University, in association with the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, on June 1-5, 2021.…
CITY LIGHTS LIVE! Aminatta Forna in Conversation with Eula Biss
May 19th, 2021
Aminatta Forna in conversation with Eula Biss, discussing her new book, The Window Seat: Notes From a Life in Motion, published by Grove Press. This event was originally broadcasted via Zoom and hosted by Josiah Luis Alderete.…
Aminatta Forna Talked about The Window Seat with Rabih Alameddine
May 18th, 2021
On Tuesday, May 18, 2021, the Politics and Prose independent bookstore held a live event with Aminatta Forna and Rabih Alameddine around Forna’s recently launched book, The Window Seat.…
Using the Power of Narratives to Address Bias in Healthcare
May 12th, 2021
The MedStar Health Institute for Quality and Safety hosted “Using the Power of Narratives to Address Bias in Healthcare”. The event featured a panel of MedStar Health physicians, researchers, and medical humanities leaders, including Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan.…
Small Silences, Confused Chronicities: The Politics of Terminal Illness in Anne Boyer, Audre Lorde and Hervé Guibert
May 10th, 2021
Ayten Tartici (American Council of Learned Societies “Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow”, Georgetown Humanities Initiative) presented her most recent research at the crossroads of comparative literature, medical humanities, and racial justice. The respondent was Prof. Lakshmi Krishnan, Director of the Georgetown Medical Humanities Initiative.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring Nicoletta Pireddu
May 10th, 2021
Georgetown President John J. DeGioia engaged in conversation with Nicoletta Pireddu. They discussed the value of the humanities, the interdisciplinary, cross-campus collaborations of the Georgetown Humanities Initiative, and the global outreach of comparative literature studies.…
The Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program – Adapting to a Virtual World: Challenges, Changes, and Surprising Success Stories in a Global Pandemic
April 16th, 2021
Julia Langley spoke at the Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab (CORAL) lecture series: Enhancing Wellness for Healthcare Professionals through Engagement with the Arts, talking about how the work of the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program has been adapted to a virtual world during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano Was Featured in Coney Island USA’s Ask the Experts
April 14th, 2021
Toni-Lee Sangastiano was featured in Coney Island USA’s Ask the Experts lecture series, on a session held via Zoom on April 14, 2021.…
Decarcerating Disability: Deinstitutionalization & Prison Abolition with Dr. Liat Ben-Moshe
April 12th, 2021
Discussion with Dr. Liat Ben-Moshe, of her recently published book, Decarcerating Disability: Deinstitutionalization and Prison Abolition.…
Theodora Danylevich Presented her Contribution to A Cultural History of Disability at the Composing Disability Conference
April 9th, 2021
On April 9, 2021, Theodora Danylevich presented her work on “Chronic Pain and Illness: States of Privilege and Bodies of Abuse” at the Composing Disability conference, hosted by the George Washington University virtually, which this year celebrated the publication of A Cultural History of Disability.…
Professor Timothy Newfield Speaks at the 53rd Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies Spring Symposium
March 28th, 2021
Timothy Newfield presented his work on “Local Dimming or Global Blackout? Mysterious Clouding and Climate Change in the Sixth Century: Science, Sources, and Reconstructions” at the 53rd Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies Spring Symposium.…
Laura Hartmann-Villalta Talked about Incorporating Jesuit Values in her Composition Class and Modernism in the Spanish Civil War at the Northeast Modern Language Association 52nd Annual Convention
March 14th, 2021
Laura Hartmann-Villalta presented her papers on “Incorporating Jesuit Values into the First-year Composition Classroom” and “The (Leftist) Worldly Modernism of the Spanish Civil War” at the the Northeast Modern Language Association 52nd Annual Convention, which was held online between March 10 and 14, 2021.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring Aminatta Forna
February 26th, 2021
Conversation between Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and Aminatta Forna.…
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan Spoke at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
February 24th, 2021
On February 24, 2021, Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan presented her lecture about “Medical Humanities for the Clinician” at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Department of Medicine Grand Rounds.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring Emily Mendenhall
February 24th, 2021
Conversation between Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and Emily Mendenhall.…
Why Now Is a Good Time To Pursue a Masters in Health Systems Administration: Dr. Christopher King on Integrating Racial Equity in Health System Performance
February 16th, 2021
Dr. Christopher King led a discussion on Integrating Racial Equity in Health System Performance, based on his experience teaching and contributing to practice and scholarship on the creation of equitable systems of care.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano Chaired the “The Freak Show in Contemporary Culture and Aesthetics” Virtual Panel at the 109th College Art Association of America Conference
February 13th, 2021
This panel, chaired by Toni-Lee Sangastiano, brought together artists, performance artists, and artist philosophers to add a more nuanced perspective about the freak show and its relevance.…
The MedStar Washington Hospital Center Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds Featured Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan’s Presentation
February 13th, 2021
On February, 2021, Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan presented her lecture “Revolution is Not a One-Time Event: How History of Medicine and Health Equity Can Remake Medical Education” at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds.…
Maggie Little Discussed the Scientific and Ethical Considerations when Designing Clinical Trials that Enroll Pregnant People at the Duke University’s Center for Health Policy
February 2nd, 2021
Maggie Little was part of the panel discussion around the Scientific and Ethical Considerations when Designing Clinical Trials that Enroll Pregnant People, which took place on February 2, 2021.…
Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s Perspective on “Circus 2021: Adaptations and Possibilities amid COVID-19”
January 16th, 2021
Toni-Lee Sangastiano was one of the artists invited by the Circus and its Others (CaiO) project, to present her perspective on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impact circus around the world. In this video, Toni-Lee Sangastiano invites viewers to Washington. Her contribution was framed in the Circus 2021: Adaptations and Possibilities amid COVID-19 event, which took place on January 16, 2021.…
Laura Hartmann-Villalta Co-Chaired a Roundtable on Caregiving, COVID-19, and Precarity in the Academy at the Modern Language Association 2021 Convention
January 10th, 2021
On January 10, 2021, Laura Hartmann-Villalta and Emily C. Bloom chaired a Just in Time roundtable on Caregiving, COVID-19, and Precarity in the Academy at the Modern Language Association 2021 Convention, which took place online from 7 to 10 January, 2021.…
AHR Interview: Merle Eisenberg and Lee Mordechai in Conversation with John McNeill on the Plague Concept
January 1st, 2021
Merle Eisenberg and Lee Mordechai join this conversation with John McNeill. They discuss their article “The Justinianic Plague and Global Pandemics: The Making of the Plague Concept,” which appeared in the AHR.…
Fall 2020
Everybody Hates Me: Let’s Talk About Stigma Podcast: Dr. Emily Mendenhall, Stigma, Syndemics and Diabetes
December 23rd, 2020
Emily Mendenhall discusses with host Dr. Carmen Logie the concept of syndemic, based on her global research on diabetes, HIV, violence, depression and trauma.…
AHR Interview: Monica H. Green in Conversation with John McNeill on The Four Black Deaths
December 16th, 2020
In this episode John McNeill speaks with Monica H. Green, a historian of medicine and global health, about her article, “The Four Black Deaths,” which appeared in the AHR. In it, Green suggests both a broader and more nuanced understanding of how plague spread in the late medieval world.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan
December 9th, 2020
Conversation between Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan.…
Take the Lead Podcast: “Brain Science: Accessing The Brain And Its Functions Ethically”, Dr. James Giordano in Conversation with Dr. Diane Hamilton
December 9th, 2020
Dr. James Giordano talks with Dr. Diane Hamilton about the neuroethical aspect of brain science, digging deep into the brain science of morality and ethics and the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise in and from neuroscience and its varied applications in biomedicine, public life, and daily occupational pursuits.…
Infectious Historians Podcast, Episode #39: Environmental History: Past, Present, and Future with John McNeill
December 6th, 2020
John McNeill speaks with Merle Eisenberg and Lee Mordechai about the changes to environmental and disease history over the last half century.…
Bearing Witness: The Legacy of Jan Karski Today
December 3rd, 2020
On December 3, 2020, The Lab hosted this special event honoring the legacy of Jan Karski and its relevance to the current moment.…
Nicoletta Pireddu Spoke at the “Humanities Centers as Sites of Dissent” Virtual Panel
December 2nd, 2020
On December 2, 2020, Nicoletta Pireddu was invited to speak the “Humanities Centers as Sites of Dissent” virtual panel, hosted by the Center for Humanities Research of George Mason University.…
Maggie Little Chaired Discussion on the Ethics of Research During Pregnancy
November 30th, 2020
Maggie Little chaired the Ethics of Research During Pregnancy discussion, that was part of the PHEPREN and Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) seminar, which took place on November 30, 2020.…
John McNeill Was a Guest Speaker at MIT’s “Plants and Plagues” Session
November 13th, 2020
John McNeill was a guest speaker at the MIT’s “Plants and Plagues” session, which was part of the History of Now: Plagues and Pandemic free webinar course. This course focused on the history of infectious disease, looking transnationally and across disciplines at how plagues and pandemics have made an impact on human and non-human history.…
The Great Work Begins: Revisiting Angels in America During a Pandemic
October 27th, 2020
This special program of performance and discussion combined scenes performed by leading professional actors from Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning two-part epic play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes with insights from experts from the medical, political, and artistic communities on the legacy and continued resonance of the play’s portrayal of the AIDS Epidemic in the context of the current moment.…
Dr. Christopher King Was the Keynote Speaker at the DC Hospital Association’s 2020 Patient Safety & Quality Summit
October 23rd, 2020
Dr. Christopher King was the keynote speaker at the DC Hospital Association’s 2020 Virtual Patient Safety & Quality Summit that took place between October 19 and 23, 2020. His keynote lecture was titled Racial Equity: A Prerequisite for Advancing Quality and Population Health.…
“Such a Time As This”: Racial Justice and the University Series: Racial Justice, Science, and Health
October 21st, 2020
This series of conversations explored how Georgetown faculty’s research advances racial justice. The sessions considered how racial justice produces certain responsibilities for researchers. They also examined how the pursuit of justice informs the impact of the speakers’ work. Beyond focusing on individual work, they also explored how the mission of Georgetown University informs and supports this work.…
Readings and Talks featuring Valeria Luiselli
October 20th, 2020
Evening with award-winning novelist and essayist, Valeria Luiselli. This event was moderated by Lannan Center Director and author Aminatta Forna and was cosponsored by the Georgetown Medical Humanities Initiative.…
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan Featured in the Shakti: Powerful Feminine: A Navarātri 2020 Speaker Series
October 19th, 2020
In October 2020, Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan was featured in the Shakti: Powerful Feminine: A Navarātri 2020 Speaker Series. The event centered on impactful South Asian women coming from different realms but united by their energy and boldness. It was co-sponsored by Georgetown Hindu Student Association, Georgetown University’s Women’s Center, Georgetown University’s Dharmic Life, Yale University Chaplain’s Office, and Princeton University Hindu Life Program.…
Making Communities: Public Science in the Time of COVID-19. A Conversation featuring Margaret Talbot (New Yorker) and Don Undeen (Georgetown’s Maker Hub)
October 15th, 2020
What happens when supply line production of essential goods and equipment is disrupted? Can public science offer solutions? Citizen scientists and community labs are developing everything from affordable insulin to low-cost, open-source medical supplies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, maker communities such as Georgetown’s Maker Hub began producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for local healthcare facilities.…
Dr. Christopher King Featured in the “Promoting Health Equity and Food Security through Medically Tailored Meals” Panel
October 8th, 2020
Dr. Christopher King participated in the Promoting Health Equity and Food Security through Medically Tailored Meals the discussion, which explored the ways in which medically tailored meals help disrupt the connection between inadequate nutrition and poor health.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring John McNeill
October 2nd, 2020
Conversation between Georgetown President John J. DeGioia and John McNeill.…
The Coronavirus Pandemic in Historical Perspective, with Professor Timothy Newfield
September 3rd, 2020
In this event, hosted by Georgetown University Press, Georgetown College, and Georgetown University Library as part of the Books for a Better World series, Timothy Newfield talks about the history of infectious disease in the ancient world.…
Climate History Podcast, Episode 16: “Pandemics and Climate Change: What History Tells Us About Today’s Greatest Challenges” with Timothy Newfield
August 25th, 2020
Timothy Newfield talks with co-hosts Dagomar Degroot and Emma Moesswilde about what led him to the History and Biology departments at Georgetown University, and about his work in the thriving field of historical epidemiology.…
Estudos Medievais Podcast, Mundus Series Episode 1: “Plague and Climate Change” with Timothy Newfield
August 3rd, 2020
Timothy Newfield talks with Isabela Alves Silva about the Justinianic Plague and climate change in the beginning of the Middle Ages.…
Maggie Little Moderated Conversation on How AI Is Helping in the Fight Against COVID-19
July 22nd, 2020
In this event, hosted by the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business as part of the Stanton Distinguished Leader Series, Maggie Little moderated a conversation with Benevolent AI CEO Ken Mulvany on how AI is helping in the fight against COVID-19. The panelists discuss how business and technology are being used to help move us out of the COVID19 crisis.…
The Coronavirus Multispecies Reading Group Talked with Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan & Michelle Ogunwole about Racial Disparities, the 1918 Pandemic and COVID 19
July 20th, 2020
On July 20, 2020, the Coronavirus Multispecies Reading Group invited Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan and Michelle Ogunwole to talk about racial disparities, the 1918 pandemic and COVID 19.…
Dr. Christopher King and Dr. Edilma Yearwood Talked about the The Growing Crisis of Health Disparities In American Society
July 1st, 2020
Dr. Christopher King and Dr. Edilma Yearwood discussed The Growing Crisis of Health Disparities In American Society, as part the “Conversations About Racial Injustice: The Movement Towards Equity and Fairness” series.…
Spring 2020
The Impact of COVID-19 on Black Americans
June 25th, 2020
In this conversation, hosted by the Black Alumni of Georgetown and the Georgetown University Alumni Association, faculty and alumni experts including Christopher King explored the impact of COVID-19 on Black communities and examined how communities can be rebuilt and better protected.…
Humanities in the Time of COVID-19: What Literature, Ethics, and the Arts Can Teach Us in a Quarantine Environment
May 28th, 2020
This virtual panel of Georgetown humanities scholars discussed the role of the humanities in this most distinctive of times. The panelists took French novelist Albert Camus’s 1947 novel The Plague as the point of departure to address how literature, philosophy, history, and the arts can help us understand ourselves in relation to the world, foster empathy and a sense of connection in times of crisis, and help people make everyday ethical decisions.…
The Health Disparities Podcast: Both Pandemic and Syndemic – How Clusters of Preexisting Comorbid Conditions Have Driven Up Fatalities, featuring Emily Mendenhall and Robert Like
May 22nd, 2020
Emily Mendenhall and Robert Like discuss the syndemic concept with host Mary O’Connor, to explain why certain populations are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and offer insights into potential solutions.…
The Convergence Podcast, Episode 9: “COVID-19 and the Future of Bio-Security” with James Giordano
April 30th, 2020
James Giordano talks about COVID-19, the effect of this pandemic on the Nation, its impact on national security, and the potential implications on future bio-security.…
Georgetown Now: A Conversation with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia featuring Christopher King
April 15th, 2020
Dr. Christopher King talked with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia about his work as Chair of the Department of Health Systems Administration and and how it relates to the current pandemic.…
COVID-19: Demonstration and Lessons of Multiple-Order Biosecurity Risks and Threats
March 26th, 2020
James Giordano presented his work on “COVID-19: Demonstration and Lessons of Multiple-Order Biosecurity Risks and Threats” at the “Combating Global Coronavirus: From Isolation to International Cooperation” conference, which focused on the growing concern of the world community with consequences of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.…
A Distant Mirror: Seeing Medical History and Race through the Lens of U.S. Culture
February 10th, 2020
The Medical Humanities Initiative, in collaboration with the Georgetown Humanities Initiative and Howard University, hosted the lecture “A Distant Mirror: Seeing Medical History and Race Through the Lens of U.S. Culture,” featuring Harriet Washington, National Book Critics’ Circle award-winning author of Medical Apartheid.…
“Peak Document and the Future of History”, John McNeill Delivered His Presidential Address at the American Historical Association
January 4th, 2020
In his role as President of the American Historical Association, John McNeill delivered his 2019 presidential address at the AHA annual meeting, which took place on Saturday, January 4, 2020 in the New York Hilton.…
Fall 2019
Julia Langley and Pamela Saunders Presented their Work in Symposium Co-Chaired by Saunders, at the Gerontological Society of America 2019 Meeting
November 17th, 2019
Julia Langley and Pamela Saunders presented their work in the “Creating Strength in Age: Harnessing the Power of Arts and Humanities Network” symposium, co-chaired by Pamela Saunders and Gay Hanna, at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2019 Meeting, which was held in Austin, Texas, from November 13 to 17, 2019.…
BBC Radio 4 – Bookclub: Aminatta Forna – The Memory of Love
September 5th, 2019
Aminatta Forna discusses her novel The Memory of Love with James Naughtie and a group of readers at the BBC Radio – 4 Bookclub podcast. The Memory of Love has as its background three decades of unrest and violence in Sierra Leone, Aminatta Forna’s father’s home country and the one where she mostly grew up.…
Spring 2019
“Health and Disease History of the Caribbean, 1491-1850: Two Syndemics”, John McNeill’s 2019 Sir John Elliott Lecture in Atlantic History
May 21st, 2019
On May 21, 2019, John McNeill delivered the 2019 Sir John Elliott Lecture in Atlantic History, titled “Health and Disease History of the Caribbean, 1491-1850: Two Syndemics”, at Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute.…
Georgetown Hosted the American Comparative Literature Association 2019 Annual Conference
March 10th, 2019
From March 7 to 10, Georgetown University hosted the 2019 American Comparative Literature Association’s Annual Meeting, one of the world’s largest conferences of comparative literature scholars, which Nicoletta Pireddu spent over two years planning.…
Dr. Daniel Marchalik and Dr. Hunter Groninger on Beyond Burnout–The Healing Power of Fiction
February 6th, 2019
On February 6 2019, Dr. Daniel Marchalik and Dr. Hunter Groninger spoke at the University of Virginia’s Medical Center Hour about emerging research on books’ benefits for doctors and trace their own experience with the Literature and Medicine Track at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.…