Home
Rope with knot

Our research

Interdisciplinary research in medicine, humanities, and society

We work to develop new research collaborations and to establish and strengthen relationships with similar research environments, nationally and internationally. We are happy to welcome others at our events.

We share an interest in the analysis of health, wellbeing, embodiment, pain, illness, bodily and functional variations, health care practices, medical technologies, diagnostics, healthcare politics, social politics, and narrative medicine, from different interdisciplinary as well as more disciplinary humanities and social sciences perspectives. Some of us also work with questions that arise at the intersection between the humanities, the social sciences, clinical practices, and biomedicine, and we welcome interdisciplinary approaches that enable dialogue between such areas.

Some of the personnel at the CMHB study experiences of and narratives about health, wellbeing, illness, and bodily or functional variations. Others study medical practices, medical technologies, diagnoses and diagnostic processes, care practices and how illness can help to shape one’s self-understanding and everyday life. Still others analyse questions of ethnicity and gender in healthcare, or norms and assumptions about bodies and embodiment.

Some of us study concepts in healthcare, while others study communication and social interaction in healthcare. Other topics of study concern bioethical questions, or what takes place when young persons or elderly persons become the target of medical or preventive healthcare interventions. These are but a few examples of what is going on at the CMHB.

We come from several disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds, and colleagues at CMHB work with circa 40 different research projects. Descriptions of these projects are available in the CMHB Yearbook (see ‘News’ within this website), and at specific project websites and/or on colleagues’ webpages. The CMHB Yearbook also contains an overview of twelve themes that recur in several of these research projects.

We welcome national and international researchers at our events. Researchers are also welcome to visit us, for example as guest researchers. We hope in this way to create opportunities for creative conversations, the fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences, and productive new collaborations.

Colleagues affiliated with CMHB are based in a number of departments at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Linköping University. CMHB is hosted by the Department of Thematic Studies.

How we work to strengthen research at CMHB

We arrange research seminars and research grant workshops. Our seminars have different forms; they can involve discussions of our work-in-progress texts or research presentations by visiting scholars. They can also take the form of short research presentations through which we together explore a specific theme from different perspectives. At our research grant workshops, we work systematically with individual or joint research grant proposals.

Selected research projects at CMHB

Animation of bodies in motion

Art project: The ”difficult patient”

This series of three artworks is a commentary on how medicine creates its own "difficult patients". It can also serve as critical reflection on how healthcare professionals and patients use their knowledge to enable better care.
Close-up dandelion seeds on black background.

Epistemologi och post-Covid

The pandemic has impacted us all, but some more than others. For those who are suffering from post-Covid, the lingering impact is particularly tangible. Interdisciplinary research is needed to understand this new health challenge.
Model of a womb

Bodies Hub

We are academics engaged in interdisciplinary research and teaching about bodies, identity, sex, gender and more.
Rainbow toy.

Physical, mental and reproductive health among sexual and gender minorities during pregnancy, childbirth and first year of parenting

The interdisciplinary research project s will follow the health and experiences of LGBTQ people during pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood to contribute to important knowledge in an unexplored area.
A picture of a wall with clear cracks.

The Many Meanings of Perineal Injuries

Care-seekers’ and care-providers’ perspectives on second-degree perineal injuries, their implications, and potential to improve care.
Bilden visar flera ungdomar

Pupils' definitions of mental health

The argument that young people do not feel well is common in reports and media. What does it mean? We examine schoolchildren’s experiences of mental health and how such knowledge can add to the knowledge gained from surveys measuring symptoms.

Visit us as a guest researcher

Autumn picture from Campus Valla and Studenthuset.

Experience our unique research environment

Researchers from other universities, nationally and internationally, are welcome to visit CMHB and conduct research. As a guest researcher, you will be welcome at our recurrent activities, such as seminars, and other events. We offer office space and access to the LiU facilities such as IT services, printing, and library services during your stay, but cannot offer funding.

Interested in guest research opportunities with us? Fill out this form, and we will get in touch with you.

Access the interest form here

Read more about some of our previous guests

Alice Langley and Jean-Pierre Roux is standing by a concrete wall.

Guest researchers from Glasgow explored new perspectives

CMHB welcomed four PhD students from the University of Glasgow through the prestigious "Turing Mobility Scheme." During their one-month stay, they had the opportunity to collaborate, attend seminars, and immerse themselves at LiU.
Researchers from CMHB along with the visiting students from the University of Glasgow at a seminar.

CMHB welcomed four visiting students from the University of Glasgow

In addition to presenting their work at one of the CMHB’s regular seminars, the doctoral students received a mentor from LiU, presented their research at different departmental seminars, and attended the CMHB’s Futures Ahead conference.