Overview

“Humanities, Social Sciences and Medicine in East Asia: Interdisciplinary Approaches” is a two-year series of advanced training workshops jointly organized and sponsored by the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong (香港大學), the Institute of Medical Humanities and Centre for History of Medicine at Peking University (北京大學), and the Key Research Institute of Social History of China at Nankai University (南開大學).

The series focuses on humanities and social science approaches to understanding medicine in East Asia. Its first training workshop, on the theme of “Circulation of Medical Knowledge and Practices, Past and Present”, will take place at Peking University from August 10 to 17, 2015.

Medical knowledge and practices have emerged over the past several decades as a fertile field of investigation for scholars seeking to rethink the nature of modernity in East Asia and elsewhere. Looking more closely at medicine offers the promise of new ways of thinking about ways of being that have helped define modern society, from changing practices of personal hygiene to the restructuring of health care institutions and the scientific investigation of disease. This training workshop will encompass historical and contemporary perspectives, highlighting the relevance of medicine to humanities and social science analyses of East Asia and facilitating creative conversations among young researchers under the guidance of leading scholars in medical history. Participating senior faculty will include: