News archive 2002

Appointment of UK's first Chair in Medicine and the Arts

29 Jan 2002, PR 04/02

King’s College London has made its first appointment to the D’Oyly Carte Chair in Medicine and the Arts.

The new Chair has been established within King’s School of Humanities thanks to a £2 million gift from the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust. Based in the Department of English, the Chair will stimulate high quality teaching, research and public debate in the field of medicine and its relationship to literature, philosophy and other arts, including those of performance.

Professor Brian Hurwitz, currently Professor of Primary Health Care and General Practice at Imperial College, London, has been appointed to the Chair. He will take up his new post on 1 February 2002.

Professor Hurwitz has been a practising GP in inner London for 20 years and a clinical academic at Imperial College for seven years. His research interests span medicine, literature, and the history of ideas, and he intends to develop the following strands of academic activity in his new role:

    * Research across the Schools of Humanities and Medicine to include collaborations with the Centre for Medical Law and Ethics in King’s School of Law
    * Involving the School of Humanities in undergraduate clinical education in areas such as history taking, appreciation of clinical stories and in communication skills
    * Creating links between arts and science masters courses at King’s
    * Developing courses in medical humanities which meet the interests and needs of a wide range of clinicians in the NHS
    * Expanding the programme for undergraduate medical students to gain access to arts disciplines by introducing new special study modules, such as The Human Body in Medicine and the Arts and Narrative in Medicine
    * Speaking of his appointment Professor Hurwitz said: “The creation of this Chair offers a unique opportunity to develop a flourishing centre of interdisciplinary studies at King’s which will foster interplay between Medicine and the Arts.“

      “My work in the field of narrative studies seeks to link the work of novelists and literary scholars with the ailments and contemporary concerns of patients. This academic position, in the Department of English, will generate exciting collaborations which enquire into medicine, the arts and the influence of artistic representations upon medical practice and delivery of health care.”

      "The D’Oyly Carte Chair, sited in central London in close proximity to many national theatre, film and artistic venues, provides an unprecedented opportunity to place King’s at the forefront of this developing interdisciplinary field.”

Notes to editors

Professor Brian Hurwitz
Brian Hurwitz MA MSc MD FRCP FRCGP is a graduate of Cambridge University, University College, London, and King’s (MA Medical Law & Ethics 1993). He studied history and philosophy of science and medicine as an undergraduate, and has professional and research interests in history of medicine, medical ethics, law and medical narrative. Post registration he spent six months studying mime at a London Mime Centre and intends to set up affiliation at King’s for the troupe of actors presently teaching medical students consultation skills in London. Professor Hurwitz would like the educational opportunities created by this Chair to be available to students of the arts and sciences equally. Whilst holding the D’Oyly Carte Chair he will continue to work as a GP Principal in his inner London practice.

King’s College London
King's College London is one of the two oldest and largest colleges of the University of London with some 12,400 undergraduate students and over 4,700 postgraduates in ten schools of study. The College had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. It is in the top group of five universities for research earnings and has an annual turnover of over £300 million and research income from grants and contracts in excess of £87 million (2000-2001).

The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, founded in 1972 by Dame Bridget D’Oyly Carte DBE, supports charitable causes within the fields of the arts, medical welfare and the environment. The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust is entirely separate from the D’Oyly Carte Opera Trust and the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.






Further information
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