Researchers from the Department of English Studies are transforming the way we do health research through the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities.
Led by Angela Woods, the Platform brings the stories and perspectives of people living with complex health conditions to the forefront of research tackling global health challenges, including mental health and health inequalities.
It is supported by the largest grant ever made by Wellcome for humanities research, which recognises the transformative power and value disciplines like literary studies can bring to our understanding of health and human experience.
(Pictured left to right above: Angela Woods, Fraser Riddell, Louise Creechan, Marco Bernini, Corinne Saunders.)
The Platform features a range of initiatives led by English Studies researchers, including:
Led by Corinne Saunders and Fraser Riddell, the Affective Experience Lab generates new interdisciplinary insights into our understanding of the links between feeling, emotion and health. While literature is a specific focus, the Lab also explores the way non-verbal creative arts – such as music and dance – can open up new ways of articulating and understanding emotional states. It also engages with different cultural perspectives and historical periods to transform how we think about the affective dimensions of health.
How narrative is your sense of self, your memories, emotions, fears, desires or dreams? What do you see in your imagination when you read a novel? How often do elements of a book or a movie enter your everyday life? Led by Marco Bernini, the Narrative and Cognition Lab brings narrative scholars, fictional world-makers and mind scientists together to catalyse research across these fields and innovate the science of mind.
Watch: A short video introduction to The Narrative and Cognition Lab
The Measurement Lab examines the social, cultural, political and historical forces that shape the meaning and function of measurement in medicine, health and health sciences. It is currently co-led by Louise Creechan, whose research sheds new light on neurodiversity and its links with measures of normality, diversity and function in mental health.
We warmly invite anyone with an interest in the work of The Platform to attend one of our events in 2024-25. To find out what’s on and book tickets, please visit the Institute for Medical Humanities events page.
Durham University staff and students are also welcome to join us at the IMH for fika – every Wednesday 9.30–10.30am during term time. No reservation necessary – just drop in!
Explore the Platform website Watch the Platform launch video Learn more about the Institute for Medical Humanities
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