Event Calendar

Dr. Arline T. Geronimus coined the term “weathering” to describe the effects of systemic oppression—including racism and classism—on the body. In her book Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, based on more than 30 years of research, she argues that health and aging have more to do with how society treats us than with how well we take care of ourselves. She explains what happens to human bodies as they attempt to withstand and overcome the challenges and insults that society leverages against them, and details how this process ravages their health. 

Geronimus is a Professor in the School of Public Health and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, where she also is affiliated with the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration coming soon.

Rita Charon is a general internist and literary scholar and one of the founders of the field of narrative medicine. She completed the MD at Harvard Medical School and the PhD in English at Columbia University. She is the Bernard Schoenberg Professor of Social Medicine, Professor of Medicine, and founding chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. Her research in narrative medicine has been supported by the NIH, the NEH, and many private foundations. She authored, co-authored, or co-edited four books on narrative medicine. The NEH, the NIH, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and multiple medical associations have honored her with awards and distinctions. She lectures and teaches internationally and publishes extensively in leading medical and literary journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, Academic Medicine, Narrative, Henry James Review, Poetics Today, and SubStance.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration coming soon.