2011–12 MHI Events
Sept. 12, Sara Kern
An Epidemic of Public Ignorance: Yellow Fever and the Effects of Public Opinion on the National Board of Health
Sara Kern '13, an SU history major and university assistant for the medical humanities initiative, will present on the National Board of Health, which played an important role in improving public health and sanitation in the late 19th century. The board tried to prevent yellow fever and other diseases from spreading from boats on the Mississippi to cities and towns along the river. Kern studies an 1881 incident at an NBH inspection station in Vicksburg, Mo., to show how a lack of governmental organization allowed public opinion, not doctors or public health officers, to command the station.
Kern's talk will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Women's Resource Center (on the first floor of Scholars House).
Oct. 28, Nicole Defenbaugh
The Body’s Tale: Understanding IBD through Performance and Personal Narrative
Nicole Defenbaugh, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication studies at Bloomsburg University, shares tales from her inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) journey and the experiences she has had as a chronically ill person in the medical community. As a person living with an intestinal illness and a professor of communication studies, she focuses on how illness is labeled, how patients learn and use medical jargon, how insight comes from sharing stories with ill others, and how we can all understand and perceive our bodies differently if we pause long enough to listen.
Defenbaugh's talk will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in meeting rooms 4 and 5 of the Degenstein Campus Center. This event is co-sponsored by the Susquehanna University Women's Studies Program.
Jan. 27, Jennifer McCormick
Art as Applied to Medicine: From Medical Demonstrative Evidence to Xray Vision
Jennifer McCormick is owner and medical illustrator of Art for Law and Medicine, Inc., a company that prepares visual medical evidence for legal cases. McCormick's work as a medical illustrator serves as the inspiration for her fine art, which combines actual radiography with bird imagery to reflect on healing. McCormick graduated from Millersville University and the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. For more information about her work, visit http://www.artforlaw.com/ and http://www.brighthousegallery.com/.
Ms. McCormick's talk will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Seibert Auditorium.
