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What does interdisciplinarity in medical humanities mean? What are the epistemological underpinnings of different interdisciplinary ways of engaging in medical humanities research? What are the challenges and possibilities in interdisciplinary research at the intersection between the humanities, the social sciences, clinical research, and biomedicine?
These are some of the questions that will be explored in this Medical Humanities Summer School aimed at PhD students in medical humanities, social sciences, and medicine, and with an interest in interdisciplinary research.
The Summer School will be held between 9-11 September 2024, in beautiful Vadstena, close to Linköping, Sweden. It is coordinated by the Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Linköping University, in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University.
Please see the attached course plan for further details (pdf).
The Summer School is funded by
• The Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Linköping University
• The Grant "Biomedicine, Clinical Knowledge, and the Humanities in Collaboration: A Novel Epistemology for Radically Interdisciplinary Health Research and Policy-Work on Post-Covid-19 Syndrome", financed by the Swedish Research Council (no. 2021-01245).
• Wellcome through the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities (DRP-MH) at Durham University
Accreditation (3 ECTS credits)
Accreditation is optional for all students. All participating students (both accredited and non-accredited) are expected to have completed preparatory work (equal to approximately 5 days full-time work) before the onsite course days.
Practical details
The Summer School is free of charge for all PhD student participants, and includes the bus trip between Linköping and Vadstena, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Vadstena on 9th and 10th September, and meals (from lunch on the 9th of September through lunch on the 11th of September). Teaching will be in English.
Twenty places are available for the summer school:
• five will be allocated to PhD students from the Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics, and other Swedish universities;
• five to PhD students from universities in lower- and-middle-income countries;
• five to PhD students from UK universities; and
• a further five places are open to any eligible PhD students.
For PhD students applying for the five open places or from Swedish Universities
As stated above, the Summer School is free of charge. However, PhD students applying for these open places, or from Swedish universities other than Linköping, will need to cover their own travel costs to and from Linköping.
Financial support for PhD students from universities in lower- and middle-income countries and the UK
Through the Wellcome-funded Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities (DRP-MH) at Durham University, the Institute for Medical Humanities is able to offer the following bursaries to support attendance at this Summer School:
For PhD students from universities in lower- and middle-income countries
Five bursaries of up to £2,000 GBP in total are available to support air travel to Sweden, internal travel within Sweden, accommodation, subsistence (receipted to a maximum for £40 per day), and, where necessary, up to £80 in visa costs. Bursaries will cover:
• international travel and accommodation costs (booked via the DRP-MH at Durham University).
• Internal travel and subsistence costs of up to £200 in total and with receipts (to be reclaimed from the DRP-MH at Durham University after the workshop).
A full list of lower- and middle-income countries is available here. Please note, you must be both ordinarily resident in, and studying in, a lower- or middle-income country to be eligible for this bursary. Students ordinarily resident in a lower- or middle-income country but currently undertaking their PhD in a higher income country are not eligible for this award.
For UK-based PhD students
Five bursaries of up to £700 in total are available to support travel to Sweden, airport transfers, accommodation and subsistence (receipted to a maximum for £40 per day).
Bursaries will cover:
• International travel and accommodation costs (booked via the DRP-MH at Durham University).
• Transfers and subsistence costs of up to £200 in total and with receipts (to be reclaimed from the DRP at Durham University after the workshop).
Please note that candidates not in receipt of a bursary will need to cover their own travel costs to and from Linköping. If you have any queries about bursaries for PhD students from lower- and middle-income countries or for UK-based PhD students, please contact Fiona Johnstone (fiona.r.johnstone@durham.ac.uk).
How to apply
Please send, as a single PDF document, the following information:
1. Your name as it appears on your passport
2. Your contact email address and telephone number
3. Your department, institution, and country
4. Whether you are applying for a bursary, and if so, which one. (Please check eligibility requirements carefully.) If you are not eligible for a bursary, please confirm that you will be able to cover your own travel costs to and from Linköping.
5. Confirmation that, if accepted for the summer school, you will undertake the required preparatory work (equal to approximately 5 days full-time work).
6. A description of your PhD-project and academic achievements to date (up to 500 words).
7. A statement relating your research interests to the themes of the Summer School (up to 500 words).
8. A letter of support from your supervisor
Submit your application to summerschool.medhum@liu.se by the 12th of March.
Please also use this address for any questions you may have (except for queries about bursaries).
Applications will be assessed by a selection committee of academics from Linköping University and Durham University. All candidates will be notified by mid-April 2024.
