Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics

presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Theresa Sciaraffa, MA, MS, CGC
Genetic Counselor
Obstetrics and Gynecology – Cancer Genetics
Northwestern Medical Group

Beneath the Shadow of the Pink Ribbon:
The Underlying Culture of Breast Cancer Awareness

Since its emergence in 1992, the pink ribbon has become the iconic symbol of breast cancer awareness, transforming a humble grassroots movement into a full-fledged philanthropic empire.  Whether donned on a runner’s bib during a local “Race for the Cure” or adhered to the label of a Campbell’s soup can in a neighborhood grocery store, the pink ribbon consistently reminds us that 1 in every 8 American women will develop breast cancer. Yet, although it represents an inherent biological threat, the pink ribbon is nonetheless regarded by many as a sign of hope, courage, and, ultimately, survival. Its continued dominance in contemporary society has maintained breast cancer’s positioning at the top of the social agenda while simultaneously catalyzing American society’s passionate response to a disease that kills approximately 41,000 women annually.

In recent years, however, a growing resistance towards the ubiquitous pink ribbon has begun to emerge, with many women (breast cancer patients, “survivors,” and outsiders alike) speaking out against its seemingly altruistic and communitarian mission to shed light on poignant aspects of the breast cancer experience that the pink ribbon blatantly ignores.

On this, the first week of “Pinktober” 2019, join us as we journey into the shadow beneath the pink ribbon to explore the increasingly problematic nature of the culture surrounding breast cancer awareness, paying particular attention to the underlying social, cultural, and political implications for women with the disease. Be prepared to “think beyond pink….”

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program presents

A Montgomery Lecture:

Flash(y) Bioethics: Five-Minute Takes on Five Topics

Come join us for a fun introduction to our faculty and our field! Our MA students have come up with 5 topics for us explore in a pithy 5 minutes or less, providing a sampling of the diversity of issues engaged by the medical humanities and bioethics, and the breadth of the disciplinary approaches we bring to them. Here’s a preview of who will be there--and the topics that will be explored.

Catherine Belling (Literature) MERCY

Katie Watson (Law) FORTUITOUS

Megan Crowley-Matoka (Anthropology) FOOD

Debjani Mukherjee (Psychology/Clinical Ethics) HOPE

Tod Chambers (Religious Studies/Philosophy) VULNERABILITY

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics

presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Susan P. Shapiro, PhD
Research Professor
American Bar Foundation
Chicago, Illinois

Speaking for the Dying:
Life-and-Death Decisions in Intensive Care

Seven in ten older Americans who require medical decisions in the final days of life lack capacity to make them. For many of us, our biggest life-and-death decisions—literally—will therefore be made by someone else. But how will they decide for us? Despite their critical role in choreographing the end of another’s life, we know remarkably little. Susan Shapiro’s new book, Speaking for the Dying, fills that void. Drawing on daily observations over more than two years in two intensive care units in a diverse urban hospital, Shapiro will share how loved ones actually speak for the dying, the criteria they use in medical decisions on behalf of patients without capacity, and the limited role of advance directives in this process. 

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics

presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Mark Sheldon, PhD
Distinguished Senior Lecturer Emeritus
Department of Philosophy, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty, Medical Humanities & Bioethics Graduate Program
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Ethicist, Rush University Medical Center

A Defense of Physician Assisted Death

Physicians engage in activities that facilitate patients’ deaths.  The claim that is often made is that these activities are different from what is often called physician assisted suicide. Are they?  What distinctions are offered to differentiate such activities, and do the distinctions hold?

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics

presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Catherine Belling, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Education
Center for Bioethics & Medical Humanities
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The Consolation of Horror:
A Hidden Opportunity in the Hidden Curriculum

"Horror" is a genre (e.g. horror movies) and before that an affect (the reaction horror movies try to provoke). The experience of medicine, for professionals, for patients, and for the public, often means encountering the same things that horrify movie audiences, but in a different context. How does medicine represent horror and its unruly objects? I'll suggest that explicit attention to horror in medicine might generate some surprising sources of compassion and resilience.