Medical Narrative: Critical Perspectives on Storytelling

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
2:30-4:00p.m.
Tivoli 640
UCD Downtown Denver Campus
(take the Tower Elevator to the 6th floor)
**lunch provided**

The Health and Humanities Colloquia at UCD explores the shared intellectual terrain of those researching and teaching in the humanities and health sciences. The colloquia provides a chance for those who inhabit the “combined” spaces of the Downtown Denver Campus and the Health Sciences Center to come together to identify the scholarly intersections of our interests and our work.

In our inaugural meeting, we’ll explore the benefits and risks of encouraging patients to “tell their stories.” The colloquia will be informed by two readings. The first is an article by Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Charon brings her dual background in medicine and literature together in the concept of “narrative medicine,” which reframes the doctor-patient interaction via storytelling and close reading. We’ll also read a critique of narrative medicine from disability and cultural perspectives by Felice Aull, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at NYU. These readings can be delivered via email (see below) or accessed through the Auraria database.* During the colloquia, we’ll also view clips from movie Wit (directed by Mike Nichols and starring Emma Thompson).

Please contact Dr. Amy Vidali to RSVP,
receive copies of the readings, and reserve your lunch!
amy.vidali@cudenver.edu (303-556-4765)

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*Charon, Rita. “Narrative Medicine: Attention, Representation, Affiliation.” Narrative 13.3 (Oct 2005) 261-270.
Aull, Felice. “Telling and Listening: Constraints and Opportunities.” Narrative 13.3 (Oct 2005): 281-293.