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Jefferson Humanities & Health supports student engagement in the arts and humanities to promote essential skills related to healthcare including close observation, critical thinking, communication and empathy.
Throughout the year, our programs highlight the social contexts of health and wellness, lived experiences of diverse individuals and communities, and self-care for health professionals.
Each academic year, the Jefferson Humanities Forum explores a thought-provoking theme from a wide range of perspectives. During the 2019-2020 academic year, the Jefferson Humanities Forum will investigate the theme Memory.
Throughout the year, forum events will explore aspects of Memory, including:
Students are invited to complete the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending eight (8) Jefferson Humanities & Health events during the academic year and completing a portfolio of four (4) reflective essays in response. Registration for the 2019-2020 certificate program will open in August 2019.
Registration Open: Asano Humanities & Health Certificate
Registration is now open for the 2019-2020 Asano Humanities & Health Certificate! All Jefferson students are welcome to attend 8 Humanities & Health events and submit a reflection portfolio of 4 reflections. Learn more about the Asano Certificate or contact Humanities Program Coordinator Rebecca Harris (Rebecca.E.Harris@jefferson.edu) for more information.
Jefferson collaborates with community members in Tangles in Time
On September 13 and 14, Jefferson students and residents will perform in Tangles in Time alongside individuals living with dementia and their care partners. Tickets are free for Jefferson students, faculty and staff. Learn more here!
"My Philadelphia" Art Exhibition Public Reception - August 15
Friday, August 15, 5-7:30 p.m., Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, 111 S 11th Street
Jefferson’s Department of Radiation Oncology welcomes all to join them for a reception celebrating their current art exhibition, "My Philadelphia". Through various mediums including portraits, drawings, drone photography, large format paintings and intimate mixed media pieces, this exhibition depicts exciting and nuanced personal relationships that tell the story of our beloved city and the people who reside within it.
Curated by Eric Preisendanz, "My Philadelphia" will be on view from July 7 through September 29. Works from the collection are available for sale and guided tours are available to schedule upon request. Email eric@revolvd.com for tour information.
For inquiries, please contact Caitlin.tapper@jefferson.edu.
Moment to Moment Film Screening - September 6*
Friday, September 6, 12-1 p.m., BLSB 101
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration appreciated, but not required HERE.
Documentary short film Moment to Moment centers around a married couple—Carl, a scientist, and Susan, an artist—as they confront a life-changing disease. When Carl was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he began dismantling electronics in search of the copper inside. What begins as a perhaps questionable behavior evolves into a shared artistic collaboration, as his wife Susan turns the copper into art. Moment to Moment follows Carl and Susan's creative journey. Following the 15-minute film, there will be a panel discussion with the filmmakers: director Mike Attie, assistant professor and program director of the University of the Arts Film + Video department, and producer Teya Sepinuck, founder of Theater of Witness.
Lunch provided.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Health Humanities Reading Group - September 9*
Monday, September 9, 12-1 p.m., Hamilton 210/211
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Dean's Concert Series: Mozart to Mahler—The View From the French Horn - September 10*
Mozart to Mahler: The View From the French Horn
Tuesday, September 10, 12-1 p.m., Eakins Lounge
If you thought the French horn was only an orchestral instrument, guess again! Don’t miss this special program featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal horn player, Jennifer Montone, performing some of the greatest hits for horn and piano.
Lunch provided; first-come, first-served. No RSVP required.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Tangles in Time - September 13-14*
Performances:
Friday, September 13, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 14, 2 p.m.
Saturday, September 14, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 23 S. 38th St.
TICKETS: Tickets are free for Jefferson students, faculty and staff; $10 general admission.
Tangles in Time is an original Theater of Witness production created and performed by people living with dementia, care partners and health professionals. Based on the performers’ own true stories of love, loss, illness and caring, the production weaves together live performance with original music, video and visual imagery. Tangles In Time invites all people to connect and build empathy—even through changes in memory and time. Presented by Jefferson and Theater of Witness. Learn more at tanglesintime.org. Duration: Approx. 70 minutes.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Tangles in Time Panel Discussion - September 16*
Monday, September 16, 12-1 p.m., JAH Eakins Lounge
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration is appreciated but not required.
Learn more from project participants about the making of Tangles in Time and the benefits of creative engagement for people living with dementia. Participants to be announced.
Lunch provided.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Free Tickets: Jefferson Night at the Orchestra: Yannick and Hélène Open the Season - September 21
Saturday, September 21, 6:30 p.m., Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, 300 South Broad Street
Pre-registration required HERE.
Umoja, a world premiere commission by American composer Valerie Coleman, launches our 2019-20 season. Ms. Coleman's spirited music draws from Afro-Cuban, jazz, and classical genres. Umoja—meaning unity in Swahili—is alive with all these influences. Bartók's gorgeous Third Concerto, performed by Yannick's good friend Hélène Grimaud, is as vibrant today as the day The Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy gave the world premiere at the Academy of Music in 1946. This program, inspired by music of American roots, concludes with Dvorák's wondrous “New World” Symphony.
Faculty/staff concert tickets must be purchased separately. Use discount code for up to 30% off at philorch.org. (Sections Orchestra 1 and Tier 1 are excluded from the promo code.) Contact Rebecca.E.Harris@Jefferson.edu for discount code.
Health Humanities Reading Group - September 23*
Monday, September 23, 12-1 p.m., Scott 200A
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Creative Approaches to Self Care: Connecting - September 23*
Monday, September 23, 5-7 p.m., Martin Residence Hall Basement Lounge (201 South 11th Street)
Dinner provided. Pre-registration required HERE.
Research has shown that our relationships with ourselves, others, and even nature have a profound impact on physical health and psychological well-being. In this workshop we will use art, movement and music to explore ways of building and maintaining this all-important sense of connection.
About Creative Approaches to Self-Care:
In order to care effectively for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This interdisciplinary series, led collaboratively by 3 creative arts therapists and a poet, is designed to engage students in self-care practices that promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Workshops will address topics including how to cope with stress and anxiety, cultivate relaxation techniques, find balance and develop self-compassion.
Instructors: Sondra Rosenberg, ATR-BC and Adenike Webb, MMT, MT-BC
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Jefferson Humanities Forum: Tia Powell - October 2*
Wednesday, October 2, 12-1 p.m., Foerderer Auditorium
This event is open to the public. Pre-registration is appreciated, but not required HERE.
Tia Powell, MD, joins the Jefferson Humanities Forum to discuss her new book, Dementia Reimagined: Building a Life of Joy and Dignity from Beginning to End. Dr. Powell is the Director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics and Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She is a leading voice in bioethics education, end of life care and public policy. Dr. Powell applies her personal, clinical and academic experience to Dementia Reimagined, exploring the untold history of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Combining medicine and memoir, she helps us to understand how—by valuing care as much as cure—we can keep life with dementia meaningful and joyful.
Lunch provided.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
L’Ultimo Respiro: Tuberculosis and Culture in Forlanini’s times - October 3*
Thursday, October 3, 5:30 p.m., Connelly Auditorium
Free and open to the public, no registration required.
This lecture is part of Ciao Philadelphia, an annual celebration of Italian heritage and the Italian-American community in the Greater Philadelphia area. Salvatore Mangione, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, provides this lecture on the history of tuberculosis and its depictions in opera. The year 1882 marked a turning point in public understanding of TB, which had been viewed by some as a divine punishment for sin (see Verdi’s La Traviata). That year, German physician Robert Koch announced his discovery of bacteria as the disease’s cause, while Italian physician Carlo Forlanini developed the successful “collapsed lung” surgical treatment. As a result, TB was recast in the public imagination as a disease of poverty and failing public health (as in Puccini’s La Boheme), rather than moral failure. Forty years after Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor, we’ll revisit TB through opera and review how diseases acquire cultural meanings that change over time.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Health Humanities Reading Group - October 7*
Monday, October 7, 12-1 p.m., Edison Building 1402
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Health Humanities Reading Group - October 14*
Monday, October 14, 12-1 p.m., Scott 200A
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Free Student Tickets: RENT - October 18*
Friday, October 18, 8 p.m., Merriam Theater at the Kimmel Center (250 South Broad Street)
Pre-registration required HERE.
In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway… and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson’s RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. A re-imagining of Puccini's La Bohème, RENT follows an unforgettable year in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. The story takes place just as the AIDS crisis is sweeping through New York. By bringing the audience to the front lines of this epidemic, RENT exposes the physical and psychological impact of this disease on the individual and the national scale. With its inspiring message of joy and hope in the face of fear, this timeless celebration of friendship and creativity reminds us to measure our lives with the only thing that truly matters—love.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Creative Approaches to Self Care: From Self-Criticism to Self-Compassion - October 21*
Monday, October 21, 5-7 p.m., Martin Hall Basement Lounge
Dinner provided. Pre-registration required HERE.
We all have inner critics that compare how we are with how we think we should be. While this tendency to judge and evaluate ourselves can be a source of motivation, it can also undermine our sense of self-worth and make us feel “not good enough” in many areas of our lives. This workshop will focus on how to shift from viewing ourselves through a lens of criticism to a lens of compassion. We will utilize writing and music to challenge perfectionism and promote self-acceptance.
About Creative Approaches to Self-Care:
In order to care effectively for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This interdisciplinary series, led collaboratively by 3 creative arts therapists and a poet, is designed to engage students in self-care practices that promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Workshops will address topics including how to cope with stress and anxiety, cultivate relaxation techniques, find balance and develop self-compassion.
Instructors: Cindy Savett and Adenike Webb, MMT, MT-BC
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Health Humanities Reading Group - October 21*
Monday, October 21, 12-1 p.m., Scott 200A
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Wellness Week Story Slam - October 28*
Monday, October 28, 4-5:30 p.m.
Free and open to all Jefferson students, faculty and staff.
Join us for the third annual Resilience Story Slam! Jefferson clinicians share stories that address the critical balance for health professionals between the profound meaning and joy that come with providing care and the necessity for resilience in response to the stresses of caregiving. Story Slams involve a series of speakers presenting five-minute stories that revolve around a particular theme. This interdisciplinary event will showcase perspectives from a variety of health professions.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
Health Humanities Reading Group - October 28*
Monday, October 28, 12-1 p.m., Scott 200A
Lunch provided. No registration required. Learn More
The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers weekly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. During Fall 2019, the reading group will explore topics related to Memory.
*Students may earn credit for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate by attending this event.
*Events marked with an asterisk can be counted toward the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate for Jefferson students.
Please note: Events are added to the calendar as they are confirmed. Please check regularly for additional events.
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Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.