CFP: 6th Annual Medicine & Humanities & Social Sciences Conference

Call for Proposals

The 6th Annual Medicine and the Humanities and Social Sciences Conference

San Houston State University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Huntsville, Texas

February 27-28 2014

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Sam Houston State University invites abstracts for paper and poster presentations on topics related to the intersection between medicine, the humanities, and the social sciences. This interdisciplinary conference, which is open to contributions from all relevant fields, includes plenary thematic sessions, scholarly panels, roundtables with community representatives and stakeholders, a full poster exhibition, student sessions, and a student poster competition.

The aims of the conference are to promote interdisciplinary discussion around contemporary health challenges and to develop networks for future research. Social and behavioral scientists, medical humanities scholars, healthcare professionals, and students interested in careers in healthcare are encouraged to participate in this important conference devoted to examining how social factors facilitate the health and well-being of children and adults across the global community.

The conference will be held on the campus of Sam Houston State University on February 27 and 28, 2014. Sam Houston State is located in Huntsville, Texas, about one hour north of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Conference sessions/topics may include but are not limited to

• Community Health
• Health Disparities
• Health and the Environment
• History of Medicine
• Medicalization of Society
• Medicine and the Arts and Literature
• Medicine and Ethics
• Medicine, Globalization, and New Infectious Diseases
• Medicine, Health, and Society
• Medicine and Public Policy
• Medicine: Traditional/folkloric/alternative and Contemporary
• Medicine and (World) Languages
• Nutrition and Wellness
• Political Determinants of Decision-Making in Medicine
• Preparing Students for the New MCAT
• Public Health and Prevention
• The Obesity Epidemic

Oral paper presentations will be twenty minutes in length, with ten minutes for questions and answers. Applicants with proposals not selected for oral paper presentations will be invited to participate in the plenary poster session.

Student researchers will also be able to participate in a poster competition. Students’ posters will be reviewed by the Poster Judging Panel and evaluated according to (1) quality and importance of the scientific question; (2) content: design and methodology; and (3) oral explanation by author(s). In order to be considered for a poster prize, at least one author must be present during the designated poster review session in order to provide a brief explanation of the research.

Please submit a structured abstract of approximately 300 to 500 words with background, objectives, methods, results, and conclusion. Submissions should be received by December 10, 2013. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Abstract Review Committee and evaluated according to importance of the question, content design and methodology, and organization and clarity. Receipt of abstract submissions will be acknowledged via e-mail to the submitting author. After the review process is complete, the author will be notified regarding the acceptance or rejection of her or his abstract.

Participants must register for the conference by Monday, February 3, 2014, to be included in the official program. Information about registration will be sent to all interested parties.

Please send your abstract electronically to:

Medicine and the Humanities and Social Sciences Conference

Abstract Review Committee

Care of Paul W. Child, Program Committee Chair: eng_pwc@shsu.edu