Tuesday, April 16, 4:30 PM EDT - Zoom and in person at MIT Building E51-345, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
“Medical Deserts, Oases, and Ruins: An Alternative History of the Middle East” with Joelle Abi-Rached, Mildred Londa Weisman Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies
In this talk, Dr. Abi-Rached will present a history of the Middle East through the emergence of what she calls “medical deserts” (such as the ongoing desertification of Gaza through the dismantling of its healthcare system) and “psychiatric ruins” (most visibly today in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq). She will propose a typology and topology, or what she calls a “topohistory”, i.e. a way of making sense of these “places” of suffering and neglect, before diving into the history of psychiatric practice and thinking through the history of ‘Asfuriyyeh (the first modern psychiatric hospital in the Near East) and ending with a reflection on the current psychiatric landscape which looks increasingly like in late nineteenth century Europe, with its trend towards institutionalization rather than community-based practice.
Of course, this tableau of ruins and deserts contrasts with the polished and state-of-the-art “healthcare cities” of the “high oil” petro-dollar economies of the Gulf. Dr. Abi-Rached will examine the social, political, and economic factors that have led us to this current wounded landscape of ruins and deserts. The talk is a meditation on ruins and “ruination” but also a call for a more critical reflection on healthcare inequities in that part of the world.
Zoom Livestream available: Launch Meeting - Zoom (pw: bustani)
The Bustani Seminar series celebrates its 38th anniversary this year!
https://cis.mit.edu/events-seminars/emile-bustani-middle-east-seminar
For more information or any questions, contact:
Lydia Brosnahan: lydiab@mit.ed