On November 16, HRC team members welcomed DeBakey High School to Rice for the school's first ever Civic Humanist field trip to campus. The theme of the event was on the Medical Humanities, where we explored the history of Houston's medical practices, and how laboratory methods and specialized medical knowledge circulate in contemporary culture and have impact on the human community.
Abby Good, PhD Candidate at Rice and Civic Humanist Fellow, kicked off the field trip with another striking lecture that seemed to land really well with DeBakey students.
Abby Good speaks with DeBakey students about outbreak narratives and other themes on the Medical Humanities in contemporary culture
There was another fantastic "Artifact Display Room" set up in Fondren Library’s Collaboration Space, thanks to Amanda Focke of the Woodson Research Center, and Philip Montogomery of the Texas Medical Center library archives. Students were beholden to various texts, illustrations and objects, each from different moments of Houston’s past, particularly of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Montogomery engaged students in a rich discussion about the Medical Humanities and Houston's history. Click here to view the TMC's digital collections.
Anatomical sketch of the human body circa mid-to-late 1800s (compliments TMC)
The DeBakey group went on to have scrumptious lunch sandwiches delivered to Rice by local food venue, Which Which. Before concluding the field trip, students began a writing assignment facilitated by Abby Good, which can be viewed here.
We want to extend a warm thank you to DeBakey High School for Medical Professions for taking the time to visit Rice and be part of our Public Humanities intiative at Rice's Humanities Research Center. We look forward to working with DeBakey again in the near future!