Coordinators: Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (University of Pennsylvania), Michael Stanley-Baker (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) and Joaquín Terrones (MIT)
Overview
As recent and current health crises have demonstrated, there is an urgent need to think more broadly and more cross-culturally about health, healing and illness prevention. It is increasingly acknowledged in both state and global health bodies, there is much we can learn from knowledge of the past. These wells of knowledge are often in various forms of precarity.
Current Scope
This pillar explores historical and cross-cultural notions of health and wellness, focusing on their relevance to contemporary challenges in global healthcare. By examining how diverse societies have historically defined and practised health, we gain valuable insights into mind-body connections, preventive care, personalised medicine and links with the environment. The project aims to resuscitate historically rooted medical knowledge that could enhance both medical practice and public understanding. Advocating for a broader, multi-epistemological therapeutic perspective that incorporates insights from traditional Asian and European practices, this initiative will provide tools and insights from medical history and anthropology for the benefit of meeting some of today’s global health complexities.
Guiding Questions
- How do different cultural and historical paradigms measure, describe and practice “health” and “healing”? What can we learn from these diverse approaches in addressing modern health issues?
- What are traditional medical systems main take-aways of preventive medicine?
- What are the benefits and challenges of adopting multi-epistemological approaches to wellness?
- How do current research design paradigms occlude traditional knowledge, and how can these obstacles be overcome while retaining rigor?
- How can resuscitated knowledge from traditional healing systems impact contemporary medical education and public health policies?
Goals
- Educational Resources: Develop teaching materials for medical students and practitioners to promote multi-paradigm approaches to health, including workshops and a potential MOOC in collaboration with Asian institutions.
- Interdisciplinary Podcast Series: Launch “Asian Medicine in the World,” a podcast series featuring dialogues with health professionals, policymakers, and academics to explore the global impact and lessons of Asian medicine.
- Outreach to Medical Institutions and policy makers including the WHO and academic centres in Asia and the Middle East, to disseminate historical insights into contemporary health practices.