About
We are a team of researchers with a passion for Medical Humanities situated at the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna. We are curious about the way societies think and talk about health and illness, the ethical and social impacts of such narratives and images, and the medical/cultural practices that shape our ideas about these topics. As humanities scholars, we also care deeply about the potential of creative work and the arts to help patients, doctors and caregivers.
If you are interested in our current events such as workshops and conferences, as well as our Medical Humanities projects, please get in touch via the contact form. We look forward to potential collaborations!
News
- Conference & exhibition “Photo I Brut”: interview on OE1
Radio programme “Leporello” covered “Photo I Brut” on 23 June. Listen to the podcast! Linn Ritsch interviews Monika Pietrzak-Franger (University of Vienna) and Felix Hoffmann (Foto Arsenal Wien) for OE1 on the conference “Photo I Brut . Artistic Practices Between Visual Culture and Health: Museums, Markets and Artists” (17 June 2026) and the Foto Arsenal Wien exhibition “Photo I Brut”. Listen to the podcast: “Photo Brut: Kunst und Ethik” More about the exhibition “Photo I Brut”More about the Lecture series… - Sonderausstellung “Horizontal – Das Krankenbett und die Welt im Liegen”
im Berliner Medizinhistorischen Museum (bmm) der Charité (vom 29.5.2026 bis zum 2.5.2027) — Nichts ist so sehr mit dem Kranksein verbunden wie das Liegen im Bett. Die Sonderausstellung “Horizontal – Das Krankenbett und die Welt im Liegen” geht der Frage nach, wie sich Wahrnehmung und Weltbezug verändern, wenn das Bett zum Lebensmittelpunkt wird. Historische Objekte und Archivmaterialien, künstlerische Arbeiten, aktivistische Positionen und die Stimmen Betroffener treten in einen Dialog, der den Bogen vom 19. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart spannt…. - Who Is “The Watermelon Woman”?. A film by Cheryl Dunye
29 June 2026, 2 pm @Stadtkino Wien (Akademiestr. 13, 1010) — Film screening and conversation with Prof. Dr. Monika Pietrzak-Franger, Kamilla Peter and Vicenzo Straface. This event is presented as the final project of the PhD Seminar “How Can the Humanities Change the World?” at the University of Vienna. Find the event on Stadtkino website. Entrance fee € 7 – buy and reserve your tickets - Conference “Photo I Brut . Artistic Practices Between Visual Culture and Health: Museums, Markets and Artists”17 June 2026, 15:00-19:00, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN — Organised and moderated by: Monika Pietrzak-Franger (University of Vienna) and Felix Hoffmann (Foto Arsenal Wien) Medicine has never been a purely scientific enterprise. It is deeply embedded in cultural imaginaries, visual regimes, and aesthetic practices: from anatomical atlases, hospital architecture, and early medical photography to contemporary imaging technologies, and artistic engagements with illness and care. This conference, held within the frame of both the Foto Arsenal Wien exhibition “Photo I Brut” and…
- Workshop “Experimental Pedagogies for Health and Care” (16 June 2026)We are excited to announce this workshop which will bring together scholars, researchers and artists from different contexts and with varied backgrounds to imagine new pedagogical practices that include the body as archive of affective and sensory experiences and in this way contribute to new insights in teaching and learning. The idea of this workshop is to start building a community and to offer an inspiring space for thinking, learning and exchange, with an emphasis on practice and interdisciplinarity.We want…