Neni Panourgiá // From the Politics of Theory to the Brutality of Practice If there ever was a time when the theory of Medical Humanities could be tested, that time came slithering on December 31, 2019. As the world was celebrating the arrival of a new year, hoping to leave the horrors of 2019 behind,…
Book Review: Medicine is War: The Martial Metaphor in Victorian Literature and Culture by Lorenzo Servitje
Warren Kluber // Two men in military fatigues flank the entrance of an unmarked white tent; this must be the vaccination site. As I take my place in line, I feel my jaw instinctively tighten and my posture straighten, as if my body— and not just my registration ticket—is about to be inspected. The woman…
How to Subvert the Illness Narrative: An Interview with Writer David Ryan
Barbara Lock, MD // When I talked with writer and writing teacher David Ryan in mid-April 2021, more than a year into the pandemic, I was relieved to find his bright generosity intact. Ryan is my former writing professor. Class conversation was just as likely to hit on his heady days as drummer for The…
Update: “Essential Oils and White Motherhood”
Emilie Egger// In September 2018, I wrote my first piece for Synapsis. My article was about essential oils and constructions of white motherhood, how essential oils are a multifaceted part of the post-feminist discourse that highlights sexual difference and the power of domesticity in producing a white, heterosexual future. I also briefly discussed companies’ focus…
Muscle Toning or Virtue Honing?: Alexi Pappas and the Rise of Virtue Ethics in Fitness Discourse
Christina Fogarasi // Content Warning: suicidal ideation; depression; disordered eating In October 2020, celebrity cycling instructor Ally Love kicked off the second season of “Sundays with Love,” an immersive, reflective at-home cycling experience focused on “creating a sensation of deep connection with yourself and with fellow Members up and down the Leaderboard.” Peloton—an elite home…
“Real Doctors Treat More than One Species”: Modeling Medical Creativity
Jane Desmond, PhD // If you stroll the campus of a U.S. College of Veterinary Medicine (back when strolling was allowed in pre-pandemic times) you might spot a T-shirt with a striking message printed in bold lettering across the front: “REAL DOCTORS TREAT MORE THAN ONE SPECIES.” Debates about who is a “real” doctor, what…
Narrative Medicine Spring Basic Virtual Workshop: A Brief Reflection
Amala Poli // On March 19th, I began attending a three-day Basic Narrative Medicine (NM) Workshop. Like much else in academia during the Covid-19 pandemic, the workshop was held virtually via Zoom sessions. Having attended panels and conferences in the last year on Zoom, I wondered about how this would translate the experience of being…
Book Review: Breast Cancer Inside Out: Bodies, Biographies & Beliefs
Phyllisa Deroze // Kimberly R. Myers (editor). Breast Cancer Inside Out: Bodies, Biographies & Beliefs. Peter Lang Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781788747356, $82.95, E-book. It is a rare treasure to find a book that provides such rich and in-depth perspectives into the lives of people experiencing breast cancer. Kimberly R. Myers’ latest book, Breast Cancer Inside…
Book Review: So Much More than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature
Sam Allen Wright// Kathleen J. O’Shea (editor). So Much More than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature. Kent State University Press, 2020, 232 pp., ISBN: 978-1606354032 $34.95, paperback As a disability studies and medical humanities scholar, I’d like to think that I know that migraines are more than “just a headache.” But the truth is…
Covering Up
Dr. Brian J. Troth // The Latin crudus has two meanings it bequeaths upon modern English. That which is crude can either be seen as that which is natural or that which is lacking taste. Humans have a natural state, but that state is ephemeral. As soon as the child exits the womb, it is…
“She’s with us now”: Informed Consent, Assimilation (“cure”), and Disability in Star Trek: Voyager
Brenda Tyrrell // The Borg. Simply saying these two words makes such intrepid Star Trek captains such as Jean-Luc Picard turn tail and run. First introduced in 1989, the Borg instill dread, fear, and confusion into anyone who encounters them – and lives to tell about it; the pre-eminent bad guy of the Star Trek…
