Since joining Lancaster University as Lecturer in French Studies in January 2023, I have been so excited to be part of the thriving interdisciplinary research environment across the institution. I’ve been really inspired by my colleagues’ work, which demonstrates how research in Languages and Cultures can dialogue and collaborate with other disciplines to respond to some of the major challenges facing the world today.

I’m particularly interested in the question of how Languages and Cultures research and teaching can respond to diverse issues and challenges facing healthcare across different linguistic, geographical, and sociopolitical contexts. In my own research, one of my current focuses is the question of how contemporary French philosophers (re)imagine hospitals and clinical environments in their work, and how dialogues between philosophy and healthcare might change the way we think about hospitals and healthcare spaces and design.

How, for instance, might philosophy help us to imagine more inclusive design in hospitals? For example, I explore the work of the contemporary philosopher Paul B. Preciado, whose work analyses how we understand experience our bodies and sexualities in contemporary society and suggests ways in which healthcare might be more just, liberating and emancipatory for queer, trans and non-binary people. It is in the context of this interdisciplinary research environment that I set up the Queer Medical Humanities Network. Indeed, one of the central questions I ask in my research is: how can philosophy help make hospitals and other healthcare environments more inclusive and welcoming for LGBTQIA+ patients?

I came to realise that there are strong overlaps and dialogues between Queer Theory and the Medical Humanities, the latter being an interdisciplinary field which approaches diverse aspects of healthcare through humanities research. These potential for these overlaps can be seen in the work of the French philosopher Michel Foucault – a thinker who is considered foundational to the birth of Queer Theory – who also did very influential work on the hospital and on medical discourses and practices. There is so much exciting research being done into queer and LGBTQIA+ experiences of illness, healthcare, and medicine, and I wanted to create a space to bring all of this research together and foster collaborations. And thus the Queer Medical Humanities Network was born!

Events: The QMHN Seed Meeting and the QMHN Public Research Showcase

The inaugural meeting of the Queer Medical Humanities Network took place on Friday 21st July 2023, supported with funding from the FASS Health Hub.

This event brought together researchers working on issues relating to queer and LGBTQIA+ healthcare contexts across Lancaster University and beyond. This session was foundational for the network; we had a lot of discussion about what “Queer Medical Humanities” meant to us and what we wanted to do with the Network.

The Queer Medical Humanities Network Public Research Showcase on Friday 19th April 2024 followed on from this initial event. This second event, also funded by the FASS Health Hub, brought a wide range of researchers and healthcare practitioners. The event included a poster showcase, which communicated to the public some of the many projects that QMHN members are involved in. The day also included workshops geared around funding opportunities applications in the Queer Medical Humanities run by Professor Charlotte Baker from the School of Global Affairs; a movement workshop by Nigel Stewart, a Senior Lecturer in LICA; and a panel discussion.

It was clear from the day that there are so many exciting avenues for collaboration between QMHN members and I’m really excited to see what the future holds for the Network!

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If you are interested in joining the Network, or want to be added to the Mailing List to receive updates and news on upcoming events and projects, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me (b.dalton@lancaster.ac.uk)!

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