The University of Winnipeg

News

Research

Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research Conference

Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research in the Past and Present - A Conference Hosted by the Chair in Mennonite Studies

Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research in the Past and Present – A Conference Hosted by the Chair in Mennonite Studies

The Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research in the Past and Present conference traces a dramatic change in medical practice among Mennonites over the centuries.  It follows the shift from herbal and folk practice to modern DNA-based medical research, and features leading historians and medical researchers from across North America. The conference takes place on October 23 & 24, 2015, in Convocation Hall, 2nd floor Wesley Hall, at The University of Winnipeg. It is free and open to the public.

“The conference follows medical knowledge from the time of conception to the moment of death, linking culture, ethics and religious faith in a discussion that is profoundly relevant to our social and medical context today,” says conference host, Dr. Royden Loewen, Chair in Mennonite Studies. “We are pleased to welcome DNA specialists Matthew Ferrar and Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg, as well as acclaimed senior leaders in medicine and medical research, including Henry G. Friesen of the Medical Research Council of Canada and Joseph Martin, Dean of Harvard Faculty of Medicine, who will speak personally about their careers on the opening day of the conference.”

The second day examines the more specific factors of ethnic boundary, race, religious teaching and gender, as they relate to medicine in the past and present within the Mennonite world.

For more information, and to download a complete conference schedule, please visit Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health, Illness and Medical Research in the Past and Present.

Thanks to our major contributor Alexion Canada and other sponsors, including The University of Winnipeg, D. F. Plett Historical Research Foundation Inc., and the University of Manitoba College of Medicine.