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4th Global Conference
Making Sense Of: Health, Illness and Disease
Monday 4th July - Thursday 7th July 2005
Mansfield College, Oxford

Call for Papers
(please cross post where appropriate)

This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary
project aims to explore the processes by which we
attempt to create meaning in health, illness and
disease. The project will examine the models and
metaphors we use to understand our experiences of
health and illness (looking particularly at
perceptions of the body), and to evaluate the
diversity of ways in which we creatively struggle
to make sense of such experiences and express
ourselves across a range of media.

Papers, presentations, reports and workshops are
invited on any of the following themes:
* the 'significance' of health, illness and
disease for individuals and communities; the
factors which influence our perceptions of health
and illness experiences
* the concept of the 'well' person; the
preoccupation with health; the attitudes of the
'well' to the 'ill'; perceptions of 'impairment'
and disability; the challenges posed when
confronted by illness and disease; the notion of
being 'cured'; chronic illness; terminal illness;
attitudes to death
* how we perceive of and conduct ourselves through
the experiences of health and illness; the effects
on our sense of identity; our relationship with
our own body; how others perceive us - family,
friends, strangers, doctors, nurses, care
givers
* 'models' of the body; the body in pain;
biological and medical views of illness; the
ambiguous relationship with 'alternative' medicine
and therapies; the doctor-patient relationship;
the 'clinical gaze'; the body as machine and
the role of technology; the rise of genetics;
manipulation of the body - transplantation,
surgery; the body as resource; 'artificial'
bodies; the impact of body 'models' on the person
* the impact of health, illness and disease on
biology, economics, government, medicine,
politics, social sciences; the changing
relationship between society and medical
development; the potential influences of gender,
ethnicity, and class; health care, service
providers, and public policy
* the nature and role of 'metaphors' in expressing
the experiences of health, illness and disease -
for example, illness as 'another country'; the
role of narrative and narrative interpretation in
making sense of the 'journey' from health through
illness, diagnosis, and treatment; the importance
of story telling; dealing with chronic and
terminal illness; the 'myths' surrounding
health, illness and disease
* the relationship between creative work and
illness and disease: the work of artists,
musicians, poets, writers. Illness and the
literary imagination - studies of writers and
literature which take health, disability, illness
and disease as a central theme.

Papers are also solicited for special sessions
which will be held in common with a second
research project running at the same time entitled
Environmental Justice and Global Citizenship.
Papers dealing with issues surrounding the
health impacts of technological developments are
encouraged. For example, we welcome submissions
dealing with themes exploring the notion of
'environments' (both natural, built and virtual)
as a backdrop where technologies are used
through thought and action to achieve
sustainability, but where mismatches between
environmental issues and technological solutions
have experienceable effects on health which,
untreated (such as non- recognition of stress,
mental ill health), result in illness. Papers
could also deal with the gap between environmental
ills and technological and technical solutions,
and the possible consequent greater probability of
disease and death. Holistic solutions to health,
illness and environmental issues could usefully be
explored, along with citizenship issues and access
to health care.

Perspectives are sought from those engaged in:
* art and art therapy, creative writing, English
literature, history of medicine, media studies,
the performing arts (dance, music, theatre),
philosophy and ethics, psychology and social
psychology, social sciences, sociology and
socio-biology, theology and religious studies
* anatomy, child care nursing, clinical
psychology, counselling, gerontology, health
education, health services, hospital
administration, immunology, medical and surgical
nursing, medicine and the medical sciences,
pharmaceutical sciences, public health care
* practitioners in health care fields - doctors,
GP's, surgeons, health care workers, care givers,
hospice workers

Papers will be considered on any related theme.
300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday
11th March 2005. If selected for presentation, 8
page draft conference papers should be submitted
by Friday 10th June 2005.

Papers should be submitted to the Joint Organising
Chairs: these should be sent as an email
attachment in Word or WordPerfect; abstracts can
also be submitted in the body of the email text
rather than as an attachment.

Joint Organising Chairs

Prof Peter L. Twohig
Canada Research Chair
c/o Gorsebrook Research Institute
Saint Mary's University
923 Robie Street
Halifax, NS Canada B3H 3C3
Email: [log in to unmask]

Dr Rob Fisher
Inter-Disciplinary.Net
Priory House
149B Wroslyn Road
Freeland
Oxfordshire OX29 8HR
United Kingdom
Email: [log in to unmask]

All papers accepted for and presented at the
conference will be published in an ISBN eBook.
Selected papers accepted for and presented at the
conference will be published in a themed hard copy
volume. Two themed volumes are in print and one
themed volume is in press from the previous
conferences.

The conference is part of Inter-Disciplinary.Net's
'Probing the Boundaries' programme of research
projects. It aims to bring together people from
different areas and interests to share ideas and
explore various discussions which are innovative
and exciting.

For further details about the project please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/mso/hid/hid.htm

For further details about the conference please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/mso/hid/hid4/cfp.htm

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