How the arts and humanities can contribute to Healthcare Education and facilitate improved intercultural understanding in Japan and the UK.

These workshops and seminars with leading practitioners from Japan and the UK originate from a desire to learn from diverse practises and approaches to healthcare. The events will draw on an observation of two potential additional senses to the Aristotelian five: a sense of the other and a sense of movement.

This unique series of events will ask: how can alternative forms of knowledge (non-verbal as well as verbal) improve sensitivity to the experiences of another and create safe spaces within which to reconstruct new conceptions of health and illness; how can nuanced exploration of these senses enhance our understanding of how we inhabit our bodies and how can intercultural exchange through the arts and humanities enhance mutual understanding and benefit teaching and practice within Japan and the UK?

Join us for a series of two half day seminars and practical workshops live on zoom. There will be opportunities to share experience and shape discussion around the value of the arts and humanities in the healthcare education of the future.

Download: Two Cultures, Two Senses, with Japanese Translation - pdf

Seminar and workshop I: A sense of the other

Saturday 27 March. 9.30am/6.30pm – 12.30pm/9.30pm UK/Japan on Zoom
Convenor Chiyo Yoshii

Register via the registration link
Registration is open until 24th March. We will send the Zoom link for this event after registration.

Speakers/workshop facilitators include: Havi Carel, Keisuke Hagihara, Mikako Obika, Chiyo Yoshii, Jonathan Cole, Yasuhiko Murakami

Seminar and workshop II: A sense of movement

Saturday 24 April 9.30am/5.30pm – 12.30pm/8.30pm UK/Japan on Zoom (link will be sent after  registration)
Convenor: Deborah Padfield

Register via the Eventbrite registration link.

Speakers/ workshop facilitators include: Jonathan Cole, Siobhan Davies, Giskin Day, Junko Kawakubo, Minae Inahara, Yasuhiko Murakami, Deborah Padfield, Sue Ridge, Anusha Subramanyam, He Xin

Seminar and Workshop I: A sense of the other

Saturday 27 March. 9.30am/6.30pm – 12.30pm/9.30pm UK/Japan (Zoom)

This event will target the role of a sense of the other — sensitivity to patients’ multi-faceted experiences of their diseases— in clinical treatments. The complexities of patients’ experience are increasingly discussed in various clinical spaces, with the growing popularity of medical humanities, in many medical schools in Western countries.  Similarly, traditional Japanese medicine called "Kampo,", with its emphasis on a holistic understanding of patients’ physical and psychological conditions, has become more recognized. We will explore how healthcare professionals, using the approaches of the arts and humanities and doctors specialized in Kampo medicine, focus on the nuances and implications of patient narrative to grasp their whole condition, and how they may be able to facilitate patients’ resilience through such close interactions.

Seminar and Workshop II: A sense of movement

Saturday 24 April. 9.30am/5.30pm – 12.30pm/8.30pm UK/Japan (Zoom)

This event will focus on a sense of movement, interpreted not only as physical movement, but as shifts in perception, understanding or interaction that allow patient and healthcare professionals to move forward together. In interrogating the context in which the arts and humanities can be most effective within healthcare, the presentations will explore imagination, flow and movement as ways of catalysing moments for change, re-balancing unequal discourses, and understanding what it means to be and have a body. Phenomenology, literature, dance and the visual arts will be explored as ways of re-framing approaches to healthcare education fit for the 21^st century. The first half will comprise short presentations and the second half will include thought-provoking performances by leading practitioners from Japan and the UK, touching on the interaction between individual differences/impairments and surrounding physical and social environments.  There will be opportunities for delegates to share methodologies so that together new approaches to practice and healthcare training can emerge, encouraging movement in its broadest sense.

Biographies

Havi Carel is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. She recently completed a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award, the Life of Breath. She was awarded the Health Humanities’ Inspiration Award 2018 for this work. Her third monograph, Phenomenology of Illness, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016. She was selected as a ‘Best of Bristol’ lecturer in 2016. Havi is the author of Illness (2008, 2013, 2018), shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and of Life and Death in Freud and Heidegger (2006). She is the co-editor of Health, Illness and Disease (2012), New Takes in Film-Philosophy (2010), and of What Philosophy Is (2004). She previously published papers in medical and philosophy journals including the Lancet, BMJ, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Journal of Medical Ethics, and the Journal of Applied Philosophy.

Jonathan Cole is a professor at the University of Bournemouth and a
consultant in clinical neurophysiology at University Hospitals, Dorset. His
main research interest has been in the neuroscience of severe sensory loss
and control of movement. Following study with Oliver Sacks as a medical
student, he has also sought to understand the experience of those with
neurological conditions from a narrative first person perspective. He has
written five books on various conditions including sensory loss, spinal cord
injury and facial disfigurement. His first book formed a BBC2 Horizon
Documentary and he has also collaborated with artists, including Peter Brook
who featured his work in two of his plays. He is current President of the
Europe, Middle East and Africa Chapter of Clinical Neurophysiology and sits
on the international executive.

Siobhan Davies is Artistic Director of Siobhan Davies Dance and a renowned British choreographer who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Davies was a founding member of London Contemporary Dance Theatre and in 1982 joined forces with Richard Alston and Ian Spink to create independent dance company Second Stride. Founding Siobhan Davies Dance in 1988, she works closely with collaborating artists to ensure that their own artistic enquiry is part of the creative process. By 2002 she moved away from the traditional theatre circuit and started making work for gallery spaces. Davies applies choreography across a wide range of creative disciplines including visual arts and film. Recent choreographic works have been presented at some of the most prestigious art institutions in the UK and Europe, including Lenbachhaus (Munich), Whitechapel Gallery (London) and Turner Contemporary (Margate). Davies is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University. Davies was awarded a Damehood in 2020 for her continued service and contribution to the dance industry.

Giskin Day is course director for the intercalated BSc in Medical Sciences with Humanities, Philosophy & Law at Imperial College London which she combined with part-time PhD study in Health Sciences Research at King’s College London. Her PhD, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust, is on the topic of the expression and reception of gratitude in healthcare. Giskin originally trained as botanist in South Africa, before moving to London where she worked in publishing and at the Science Museum. She holds an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College and an MA in Medicine and Literature from King’s College London. She was instrumental in developing a cross-faculty humanities programme, Imperial Horizons, at Imperial College London. Giskin was awarded the Imperial College President's Medal for outstanding contribution to teaching in 2015 and was made a National Teaching Fellow in 2016.

Keisuke Hagihara is Special Appointed Professor in the Department of Advanced Hybrid Medicine at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University. He is supervisor of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine, supervisor of Japan College of Rheumatology (JCR), JCR-board certified rheumatologist instructor, Councilor, and Kampo medicine Specialist instructor. He is studying frailty in an ageing society based on the concept of traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo medicine. His research focuses on the molecular mechanism of anti-aging herbal medicine, narrative approaches and the resilience-inducing effect of Kampo medicine. His book, How Kampo Medicine Facilitates Psychological and Physical Resilience (2021) has just been published by Osaka University Press.

Minae Inahara is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, at Kobe University, since April 2016. She received her Ph.D. degree（philosophy from the University of Hull (UK) in 2007. Minae specializes in gender studies, feminist philosophy, phenomenology, disability, philosophical practice and clinical philosophy. She was an Uehiro Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP) and an Assistant Professor affiliated to the Graduate School of Letters (Clinical Philosophy) at Osaka University. Minae’s current research areas are feminist phenomenology and philosophical dialogues. She has been exploring the gendered and disabled body, physical pain, and the lived experiences of women with disabilities and mothers who have children with disabilities. She has held philosophy café in various locations and has reframed philosophy as a social educational practice. Her major publications include Abject Love: Undoing the Boundaries of Physical Disability (VDM Verlag, 2009), “The art of pain and intersubjectivity in Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits”, in D. Padfield and J.M. Zakrzewska (eds.) Encountering Pain: Hearing, seeing, speaking (UCL Press, 2021: pp.219-29).

Helka Kaski (b. 1982) works as an independent dance artist. She has long term working relations with Siobhan Davies, Nicola Conibere, Roberta Jean, Dog Kennel Hill Project and Laila Diallo. She has extensively performed both in theatrical and gallery settings. She has also worked with choreographers such as Rahel Vonmoos, Theo Clinkard, Gill Clarke, Colette Sadler and Joe Moran as well as in reproductions of works by Trisha Brown at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. Helka is part of an improvisation group of five women called Sheep(s) and has an ongoing duet practice with dance artist Rosalie Wahlfrid.

Junko Kawakubo is a part-time lecturer at Osaka University and Kobe College (PE Course: Taijiquan). She received her PhD degree in agriculture from Kobe University. She had her first encounter with Taijiquan (also known as Tai Chi) in 1990, and became an apprentice under grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing, 19th generation descendant of the founder of Chen-style Taijiquan, known as the point of origin for all styles of Taijiquan. In 2004 she became his official disciple. From 1999 until the present day, she has been involved in teaching Taijiquan at university PE courses, as well as giving Taijiquan courses to seniors in Kobe and Akashi. She also works as a representative for the Kenko Sapooto Aitowa no Kai (the Love and Harmony Group for Health Support), and is involved in volunteer work at several public education and caregiving facilities, committed to spreading the teachings of Taijiquan.

Yasuhiko Murakami is a professor at Osaka University (Graduate School of Human Sciences) and a visiting lecturer at University of Tokyo, supervisor of City of Osaka in the Section of Child Welfare of Nishinari-Tokku Project. His main research interest has been qualitative research with nurses and caregivers in child welfare. He first specialized in French phenomenology and conducted research with autistic children in the National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo? from 2003 to 2008. From 2010 onwards, he has collaborated with nurses and published four books on nursing care, receiving several awards. Since 2014, he has conducted field research in one of the poorest urban areas of Japan, focusing on child protection and is the author of two books on this subject. Many of his doctoral students are caregivers (nurses, midwives, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, etc.) specialising in phenomenological qualitative research.

Mikako Obika is Senior Assistant Professor of General Medicine at the Okayama University. She is a Fellow of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine (FJSIM) and a Board Certified Diabetologist of the Japan Diabetes Society. Her latest publications include “Literature, Art, Philosophy and Medical Education,” N: Narrative and Care 12, 30-36 (2021) and “Contribution of Literature to Medical Education: From the Viewpoint of Narrative Studies, Stylistics and Cognitive Science,” JAILA Journal 5, 101-104 (2019). Her main research interest has been in the medical humanities, stemming from her personal experience as both a bereaved relative of a patient with a brain tumour and as a medical doctor.

Deborah Padfield is a visual artist, Senior Lecturer in Arts & Health Humanities at St George's, University of London and Lecturer (Teaching) at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. Collaborating with leading clinicians and academics, her research explores the potential of photographic images, co-created with people with pain, to facilitate patient-clinician communication. In 2001, she collaborated with Dr Charles Pither and patients and staff from Input Pain Unit St Thomas’ Hospital, London on the project Perceptions of Pain, resulting in a series of publications and a touring exhibition. The work was further developed with Prof Joanna Zakrzewska, patients and staff from UCLH, resulting in ongoing exhibitions, publications and films. Funded by numerous bodies including: Sciart Consortium, ACE, AHRC, CHIRP UCL, and HEIF, she is the recipient of many awards. She exhibits and lectures nationally and internationally and is a council member/trustee of the Association for Medical Humanities (AMH).

Sue Ridge is an artist and lecturer living and working in London. She is a visiting Lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts and studied Fine Art at Kingston University and Goldsmiths College. Her current photographic work has been based on X-Ray commissions in a number of London hospitals. Previously she has worked as artist and arts consultant in numerous hospital environments at North Middlesex University Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital, Homerton Hospital, Central Middlesex Hospital and recently at Guy’s Hospital. Recent exhibitions include: Women & Photography Exhibition, Oxford. 2020, X-Ray Archive - Central Saint Martins Archives Windows Gallery 2018, ’Interruptions’ Alternative processes, Photofusion Gallery, London. 2018, New Vision in Printmaking Exhibitions, Kuadu Museum of Fine Art, Taipei, Taiwan 2017, Chelsea College of Arts and Compultense University of Madrid. 2018, International Print Biennale, Newcastle 2016, Neo Print Prize Exhibition Bolton. Printmaking Today, Magazine Award 2016, Embroidered Minds of the Morris Women – UCLH Neurological Hospital Library, Queen Square London. 2016, London Group Open Exhibition 2015 - Photography Prize winner.

Anusha Subramanyam is artistic director of Beeja.  She is a thought leader, an inspiring performer, dance maker and teacher who has focused on integrating dance, education, and somatic and contemplative practices into her work. She developed her dance practice in a wide range of settings – from formal stage to venues as varied as hospitals, village halls, museums and even London Underground stations.  Anusha, has taught people with a range of backgrounds, abilities and experience. Her main aim in her teaching is to expand the understanding of dance to help students create their own practice and enjoy dancing.  Along with her partner Vipul Sangoi, she curates events such as the Dance Festival Croydon and Croydon International Mela. She has received numerous awards for her work including the Asian Women Achievement Award in Culture, 2011 presented by IWA, UK and ‘Nritya Acharya Ratna’ by Milapfest, for 2017. Since 2019, she has also been running movement workshops for healthcare students at St George’s, University of London.

Chiyo Yoshii is assistant professor of English in the Graduate School of Letters at Osaka University. She was awarded the Fukuhara Award for her work on Henry James and nineteenth-century consumer culture. Recently, she turned to broadly interdisciplinary research and teaching, employing the methodologies of the arts and humanities alongside those of the natural sciences. She teaches art and neuroscience, and this course was selected as one of the best courses in the liberal arts general education of Osaka University in 2020. Her research interests also include nineteenth-century American literature and science, and the role of the humanities in clinical treatments and medical education. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in The Henry James Review, Literary Imagination, Papers on Literature and Language, American Literary History Online Review, and other journals.

He Xin (Japanese pronunciation Ga Kin) is part-time Lecturer at Kansai University (PE Course: Taijiquan). From a young age, He Xin has learned several styles of Chinese martial arts, and has diligently studied under numerous famous grandmasters. In addition to practicing martial arts, focusing on Taijiquan, he has also started deepening his research and in 2000 he began teaching. He started his own class, with the purpose of maintaining and improving the health of the general public, and bringing Taijiquan to the attention of the public. He is an official disciple of grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing, the 19th generation descendant and inheritor of Chen-style Taijiquan.