Cancer Cultures

A two day International Event at Anthropology Department, UCL on 6th and 7th November 2012

This two day event will bring together academics and postgraduate research students from across the social sciences to examine  the diverse experiences and cultural or social engagement with the illness and disease of cancer. It will explore  the varied dimensions of 'cancer cultures' as they are constituted at the level of individual experience, family, community and both within or across different national contexts.

6th November

Key Note Presentations 5-7pm

Archaeology Lecture Theatre, Anthropology Department, 14 Taviton Place, UCL, WC1E 6BT

Introduction and Welcome Sahra Gibbon and David Napier, Department of Anthropology , UCL

'The emperor of all terrors: Cancer and the culture of warfare' Anastasia Karakasidou, Department of Anthropology, Wellesley College, USA

'Genetics to the People: Disseminating Cancer Risk Knowledge in the (post)BRCA era' Galen Joseph, Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine UCSF, USA

Closing Comments Sophie Day, Goldsmiths University of London

Followed by drinks reception in the Anthropology Department

7th November

One day workshop 9am-5pm

Daryll Forde Lab, Anthropology Department UCL

This event will bring together academics and postgraduate research students from within anthropology and other social sciences to examine the scope of different disciplinary approaches as these relate to understanding the diverse experience of and cultural or social engagement with the illness and disease of cancer. It will examine the varied dimensions of 'cancer cultures' from a comparative and historical viewpoint as they are constituted at the level of individual experience, family, community and within or across different national contexts. Papers will examine two main themes; 'The Hidden Politics of Cancer Survivorship and Research' and 'Cancer in Globalizing Contexts' and will include the following

The Hidden Politics of Cancer Survivorship and Research

Remaking the self: Trauma, teachable moments and the biopolitics of cancer survivorship Kirsten Bell, Department of Anthropology, British Columbia, Canada

Inside the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) - dealing with the risk of breast cancer in US culture - creating and transforming women's lives Christine Holmberg, Berlin School of Public Health and Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics at the Charite Medical University Centre

Personal experiences with breast cancer in Romanian and English survivors Gianina Ioana Postavaru Alexandru Ioan Cuza Universit, Romania and Loughborough University

Pathological Personalities: Defining Femininity through the Study of Cancer from 1950 to 2000 Carolyn Pratt, Michigan State University, USA

Changing Narratives of Breast Cancer Survivorship: From a focus on Longevity to Rights and Quality of Life Ana Porroche-EscuDero, Anthropology Department University of Sussex

Cancer in Globalizing Contexts

Temporalities of Modernisation in Global Public Health: The Four Stages of the Global Smoking and Lung Cancer Epidemic David Reubi, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex

Becoming aware and prioritising the self: promoting breast cancer health awareness in voluntary groups in urban India Alison Macdonald, Anthropology Department UCL

Outreaching the 'global gift of health': bodies, ethics and practices in breast cancer risk management Eirini Kampriani, Anthropology Department UCL

Workshop is open to to all but as places are limited but please register with organisors.

Organisers:

• Sahra Gibbon (s.gibbon@ucl.ac.uk Anthropology, UCL)
• Alison Macdonald (a.macdonald@ucl.ac.uk Anthropology, UCL)
• Eirini Kampriani (e.kampriani@ucl.ac.uk Anthropology, UCL)

Download the poster here.