17 November 2018: SAY AAHH! #1 Graphic Medicine Roundtable and Comics Artists Party
What is Graphic Medicine? This roundtable discussion focused on the aims and objectives of the emerging field of Graphic Medicine, which broadly denotes the critical intersections of comics and medical discourse. In a discussion that brings together artistic, scholarly and practice-based approaches, the aim of the roundtable was to elucidate the variety and multiplicity of ways in which comics allow for illness narratives to be told. This event was part of the Amsterdam Comics’ 2nd International Conference and the launch of “Say AAHH!”.
The “Say AAHH!” series brings together scholars and artists working in the Health and Medical Humanities on topics as varied as neuroscience, anthropology, narration, education, pop culture, social media, technology, museums, and public history. In the crossing of diverse practices, scholars, and topics, we aim to encourage provocative and productive discussions on health, illness, disability, and care.
Following the roundtable discussion, attendees are invited to take part in the comics artists party, during which all can engage with the invited artists and their work.
About the speakers
Joyce Lamerichs (VU Amsterdam) is a senior researcher in the field of health communication as interaction. In her work, she applies a micro perspective to conduct systematic and detailed analyses of what people do when they talk together.
Simon Grennan (University of Chester) is a scholar of visual narrative and an award-winning graphic novelist. He is author of A Theory of Narrative Drawing (2017), Drawing in Drag by Marie Duval (2018), and Dispossession (2015). www.simongrennan.com
Anna Poletti (Utrecht University) is an Associate Professor of English at Utrecht University and Senior Research Fellow at Monash University, Australia. Her research focus is on contemporary forms of life narrative and the role of mediation and materiality in autobiography.
Gaston Franssen (University of Amsterdam) is an Assistant Professor of Literary Culture. His current research focuses on the impact of cultural diversification on modern literature and literary culture, including fictional therapy, illness narratives, medical/health humanities.
Participating Artists
Zone 5300: Tonio van Vugt & Natasja van Loon (www.zone5300.nl/)
Maia Matches (Maia Machèn) (www.maiamatches.com/)
Margreet de Heer (www.margreetdeheer.com/home/index.html)
Juliacks (www.juliacks.com/)
Jelko Arts (www.jelkoarts.nl/)
Simon Grennan (www.simongrennan.com)
“Say AAHH!”
This event is part of “Say AAHH!”: 5 evenings on Arts and the Health Humanities, organised by ARIAS & SPUI25, convened by Dr. Erin La Cour and Dr. Maaike Muntinga. What does it mean to be healthy? How can we promote better practices of wellbeing and care? In what ways can the arts and new technology challenge stigmas about mental and physical health? These are but a few of the questions the Arts and Health Humanities series “Say AAHH!” addressed in a series of five sessions from November 2018 – May 2019.
