Introduced by A David Lewis
Staring Back: ‘Othered’ Bodies and Graphic
Medicine
Rachel Thomas, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Comics, Graphic Novels
& Sequential Arts, Teeside University, UK
Abstract: In contemporary healthcare, biases
emerge despite our best intentions to remain objective. In this lecture, Dr.
Thomas will examine three types of “othered” bodies that exist in
medicine, their historical roots within the discipline, biases that have arisen
from this history, and the way in which healthcare professionals can begin to
address these biases in healthcare contexts. She will also highlight examples
of graphic medicine interventions that are working to challenge existing biases
and resist the idea of the "universal patient”.
Dr.
Rachel M. Thomas is
a multimedia artist and an interdisciplinary humanities researcher who blurs
the boundaries between traditional media, technology and bio-fabrication. Her
practice is centred
around the medicalized body with specific focus on women's health. Using
heuristic research strategies, she seeks to open discourses between the
objective medical gaze and the subjective patient experience. Her graphic
medicine practice explores the impact of medical and social gazes on women’s
bodies to promote accessibility of new research outside of the academic
sphere.
Contact:
dien.ho@mcphs.edu