Join us for the “Historical Approaches to Health and Wellness” presentation which features UA faculty from a variety of Departments including Spanish and Portuguese, East Asian Studies, German Studies, French and Italian, and English. This session will detail some of the historical approaches to health and wellness. Beginning in Medieval Japan, “The Metaphysics of Tea” presented by Albert Welter, Ph.D., will explore the rationale for promoting tea drinking for spiritual and physical health. This talk promotes the idea that through tea drinking the notions of health and spirituality are intertwined. Albrecht Classen, Ph.D., will discuss “Mystical Visions and Spiritual Health” as they each relate to current approaches used today in alternative medicine. “Poetry Argues with the Razor,” as presented by Fabian Alfie, Ph.D., will bridge literary history and the history of medicine in order to make sense of Burchiello’s poems from the thirteenth century. Lastly, Thomas Willard, Ph.D., will present “Medical Uses of Imagery” and will suggest why imagination proved so important in the history of medicine through the writings of Parecelsus.
A complete list of participants and topics are included below.
Moderator & Respondent: Malcolm A. Compitello, Ph.D. Professor and Head, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Presenter: Albert Welter, Ph.D. Professor and Head, Department of East Asian Studies
Title: The Metaphysics of Tea: Health and Spirituality in Medieval Japan
Presenter: Albrecht Classen, Ph.D. University Distinguished Professor, Department of German Studies
Title: Mystical Visions and Spiritual Health: Medieval Mysticism as a Platform for the Exploration of Human Spirituality and Physical Health
Presenter: Fabian Alfie, Ph.D. Professor and Head, Department of French and Italian
Title: Poetry Argues with the Razor: Burchiello (ca. 1404-1449), the Poet-Barber
Presenter: Thomas Willard, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of English
Title: MEDICAL USES OF IMAGERY: Imagination and Health in Paracelsus (1493-1541)
This panel is part of the broader three-day Humanities, Medicine & Wellness Conference featuring University of Arizona faculty working at the intersections of the humanities, health sciences, and wellness initiatives to address global challenges. The conference will be held February 26-28, 2014 on the UA campus and will integrate research panels and papers from the Colleges of Humanities, Law, Medicine, Public Health, Science, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and others. Sponsored by the College of Humanities, all events are free and open to the public.
For more conference session and event information, go to: http://HMW.arizona.edu.