Respect and Shame in Healthcare and Bioethics Workshop Series

The “Respect and Shame in Healthcare and Bioethics” Workshop Series aims to address the following questions:

• How are the concepts of respect, disrespect, shame and humiliation relevant to healthcare and bioethics debates?
• Could deeper conceptual, philosophical and phenomenological understandings of (dis)respect, shame and humiliation help improve the practice of medicine?

There will be a special section of the Journal for Evaluation of Clinical Practice on ‘Respect and Shame in Healthcare and Bioethics’, arising from this workshop series and for further information and the Call for Papers click here.

Workshop Series Schedule (all sessions take place on Fridays, 2pm – 4.50pm CET)

1 October – Watch recording.

Luna Dolezal, University of Exeter – “Trauma and Shame: Shame-Sensitive Practice in Trauma-Informed Approaches to Healthcare.”

+ ECR presentation from Supriya Subramani, University of Zurich – “Exploring Respect and Humiliation in Bioethics.”

22 October – Watch recording.

Vania Smith-Oka, University of Notre Dame – “Microaggressions as Forms of Humiliation and Shame within Medical Encounters in Mexico.”

+ ECR presentation from Sarah Howard, University of Birmingham – “Counting Fake Latrines: Shit, Shame and the State.”

5 November – Watch recording.

Thomas Gutmann, University of Munster – “The Legal Protection of Respect in Healthcare.”

+ ECR presentation from Vanessa De Luca, University of Nantes – “Investigating Responsibility and Reactive Responses Towards Addiction.”

19 November – Watch recording.

Barry Lyons, Children’s Health, Ireland – “Stigma and the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers.”

+ ECR presentation from Nataliya Shok, Privolzhsky Research Medical University – “Medical Error as a Stigma: The Moral Code in Healthcare Practice and Bioethics in Russia.”

3 December – Register here.

Peter Schaber, University of Zurich – “Respect for the Patient’s Wishes.”

+ ECR presentation from Katharine Cheston, University of Durham – “The ‘Wish to be Treated with Dignity, Respect and Empathy’: (Dis)Respect and Shame in the Context of ‘Medically Unexplained’ Illness.”

17 December – Register here.

Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen – “Shame, Self and Other.”

+ ECR presentation from Maryam Golafshani, University of Toronto – “Empathy and Shame through Feminist Phenomenology: The Limits and Possibilities of Affective Work in Healthcare.”

Format of this Workshop Series

• There will be six workshops in this series.
• Each workshop will take place on a Friday afternoon 2.00pm-4.50pm CET (dates above).
• Each workshop will consist of a presentation from a Confirmed Speaker and a presentation from an Early Career Researcher (ECR) who has been selected via a Call for Participants.
• Both presentations will be followed by questions and discussion, with ECRs receiving tailored feedback.

All presenting ECRs are not expected to attend all the sessions. All registered participants will receive the link to attend each session of their choice.

Workshop Series

The overall goal of the workshop series is to share, analyse and reflect on issues and topics related to respect, disrespect, shame, humiliation and related concepts within healthcare and bioethics, using a multidisciplinary perspective.

Conceptual understanding of the moral concept of ‘respect for persons’ in the context of healthcare and bioethics has gained significance in recent times. While the dominant understanding of ‘respect’ in the context of bioethics has focused on ‘autonomy’, this conception has been critically questioned. However, the moral concept of respect for persons remains unanalysed from a philosophical and phenomenological understanding, and this analysis requires a critical understanding of the nature of respect and disrespect. Across cultures and institutions, the moral code to respect another individual applies while deliberating, negotiating, and interacting with them. One should avoid, or lessen, disrespectful treatment which can lead to experiences such as humiliation, shame and a loss of recognition. Leading bioethical arguments suggest the principle of recognition is significant with regard to understanding the moral concept of ‘respect for persons’ and also in actualizing respect within interactions in various situations. This workshop series aims to critically engage with these moral concepts from multidisciplinary perspectives and frameworks in order to enhance our understanding of both respect and shame, along with their significance for a more optimal delivery of healthcare.

Purpose

• To provide a space for early career scholars and senior scholars from different disciplines to workshop and get feedback on papers related to the conceptual themes of this workshop series.
• To encourage rich discussion around these themes, and ultimately compile workshop contributions into an edited volume or as part of a Special Issue of a peer-reviewed journal.

Please direct any questions regarding the workshop series to Supriya Subramani: supriya.subramani@ibme.uzh.ch

Organizers:

Supriya Subramani – Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich

Luna Dolezal, Associate Professor in Philosophy and Medical Humanities, University of Exeter