Medical Humanities - Speaking - Mahala Yates Stripling, Ph.D.

Scheduling for 2012. Please contact Dr. Stripling for available dates.

Phone/fax: 817-731-5337

TOPICS, derived from the following book, can be targeted to the general and specific audience:

Bioethics and Medical Issues in Literature

How mental and physical illnesses derive from culture as well as from disease. Diagnoses, treatments, and perceptions vary from culture to culture over time. The talk features Kesey's popular One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Walker 's provocative Possessing the Secret of Joy.
How far should we go to perfect human beings? When cloning and genetic enhancement reduce or eliminate birth defects through embryo selection and/or abortion, how will this affect the human race? Think about Huxley's Brave New World.
How biotechnology shapes the human condition. Informed citizens must decide where we want science and technology to take us as a human race.
How stories reveal changing human behaviors. In particular, literature helps us empathize with third-world foreigners with whom we would otherwise have no connection. Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy serves a moral purpose by engaging us in another’s life to evoke a moral understanding, linking health and human rights.
How improving communication in the doctor-patient relationship establishes the foundation of trust and leads to better healing. Subjects: patient autonomy, empathy, and medical mistakes, including a discussion on listening, touching.
How we can learn about contagions as shown in literature such as Camus's The Plague and Feldshuh's Miss Evers’ Boy.
TOPICS from biography of Richard Selzer, M.D. (inquire).

Audience Reviews

"A brilliant and entertaining presentation that created dialogue."
"Your valuable perspectives broadened the audience’s experience."
"I especially enjoyed your integration of lecture with audio and group discussion."
"Our participation in the short play added an extended, soul-searching experience for each of us."
"Thank you for the extraordinary workshop--one that we will long remember."
PowerPoint, audio- and video-enhanced lectures available, tailored to specific audience.

Professional Associations