Staging Care & Well-Being

University of Pittsburgh Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference

Keynote Speaker:
Jennifer Boum Make, PhD
Assistant Professor, French and Francophone Studies
Georgetown University

“For us, the human body defines, by natural right, the space of origin and of distribution of disease: a space whose lines, volumes, surfaces, and routes are laid down, in accordance with a now familiar geometry, by the anatomical atlas.”
Michel Foucault, The Birth of the Clinic.

In the wake of the global pandemic, we have rethought the notions of accessibility, precarity, and of course, self-care. In a situation where a “face-to-face” encounter is no longer the default condition, how can we communicate more efficiently and meaningfully with one another? What can the campus as a physical space provide to students? Can virtual learning be a true alternative to traditional classes? How can we care for ourselves in this binary world where one can choose between in-person and remote modes of communication and being? How are we going to “stage” ourselves in these different modes of representation? In response to these questions, interdisciplinary approaches from French/Italian Literature, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Film and Media Studies and Performance Studies, can stimulate intriguing discussions.

Co-sponsored by the Department of French and Italian and the Center for Bioethics & Health Law, with support from the Year of Emotional Well-being