Re:visit. Humanities & Medicine in Dialogue (Journal)
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In conversation with … Manuel Stetter
No full textManuel Stetter has held the Chair of Practical Theology at the University of Rostock since 2022, where he also serves as university preacher. Prior to this role, he studied and earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Tübingen, completing his dissertation The Sermon as a Practice of Transformation. A Contribution to the Foundations of Homiletics (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2018) in 2016. In 2022, he completed his habilitation, also in Tübingen; its findings are published in the monograph The Constitution of the Dead. A Religious Ethnography of Funeral Practice (Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 2024). Alongside his academic work in research and teaching, Manuel Stetter also served as a vicar for two and a half years. The engagement with death shapes all areas of his work—and how exactly, and what role the question of the (un)speakability of death plays in this, is the subject of the following interview.
The conversation with Manuel Stetter was conducted by Katharina Fürholzer, Junior Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies (Koblenz).Manuel Stetter hat seit 2022 den Lehrstuhl für Praktische Theologie an der Universität Rostock inne und ist dort zudem als Universitätsprediger tätig. Diesem Amt gingen Studium und Promotion an der Evangelisch-Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Tübingen voraus, die er 2016 mit der Dissertation Die Predigt als Praxis der Veränderung. Ein Beitrag zur Grundlegung der Homiletik (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2018) abschloss. 2022 folgte, ebenfalls in Tübingen, die Habilitation, deren Ergebnisse in der Monographie Die Konstitution der Toten. Eine Religionsethnografie der Bestattungspraxis (Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 2024) nachgelesen werden können. Neben seiner wissenschaftlichen Arbeit in Forschung und Lehre war Manuel Stetter zweieinhalb Jahre als Vikar tätig. Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Tod prägt alle seine Arbeitsfelder – wie genau und welche Rolle hierbei auch die Frage der (Un-)Sagbarkeit des Todes spielt, das ist Gegenstand des folgenden Interviews.
Das Gespräch mit Manuel Stetter führte Katharina Fürholzer, Juniorprofessorin für Interdisziplinaritätsforschung (Koblenz)
Editorial
Full text linkThis year’s special issue, titled The (Un)Speakability of Death: Contemporary Literarisations and Visualisations of Dying, co-edited by Katharina Fürholzer and Marcella Fassio, explores how literature and film engage with death as a phenomenon that is both anthropologically fundamental and linguistically elusive. At its core lies the tension between what can and cannot be expressed, between representation and absence— a tension that is made aesthetically productive.
Through four original articles, two conversations, and one report, the issue examines how fictional and factual texts, as well as various genres, imagine spaces of experience and employ media strategies to render liminal phenomena such as dying visible. Death is thus not conceived as a finite experience, but as a discursively charged void that calls for images where language reaches its limits.
Cover image: Egon Schiele Withering SunflowerDie diesjährige Sonderausgabe, verantwortet von Katharina Fürholzer und Marcella Fassio, widmet sich unter dem Titel (Un-)Sagbarkeit des Todes. Gegenwärtige Literarisierungen und Visualisierungen des Sterbens der Frage, in welcher Weise Literatur und Film dem Tod – als einem zugleich anthropologisch grundlegenden wie sprachlich schwer fassbaren Phänomen – begegnen. Im Zentrum steht das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Sagbarem und Unsagbarem, zwischen Darstellung und Leerstelle, das ästhetisch produktiv gemacht wird.
In Form von vier Originalbeiträgen, zwei Gesprächen und einem Werkstattbericht wird untersucht, wie fiktionale und faktuale Texte sowie verschiedene Gattungen Erlebensräume imaginieren und mediale Strategien nutzen, um Grenzphänomene wie das Sterben sichtbar zu machen. Dabei wird der Tod nicht als abschließbare Erfahrung, sondern als diskursiv aufgeladene Leerstelle reflektiert, die nach Bildern verlangt, wo Sprache an ihre Grenzen stößt.
Coverbild: Egon Schiele Welke Sonnenblum
In conversation with … Elsa Romfeld
No full textElsa Romfeld is a philosopher of medicine and philosophical anthropologist. Since 2008, she has been teaching and conducting research in the Department of History, Theory, and Ethics of Medicine at the University Medical Center Mannheim. Her central concern is the art of living and dying – a subject she has explored for over 30 years through numerous publications and projects that span multimedia and transdisciplinary approaches. A trained Germanist as well, she considers language both a vital medium and a research object that deserves greater attention. Among other things, she addresses the question of how illness and death can be expressed – for instance, within the working group “Language and Ethics” of the Academy for Ethics in Medicine, which she coordinates together with Katharina Fürholzer.We spoke with Elsa Romfeld about Café SensenMAnn – Mannheim’s first and only Death Café, which she founded in 2018 – and about the challenges and possibilities of engaging (pro)actively with the “(un)speakability of death.”
The conversation was conducted by Katharina Fürholzer, Junior Professor of Interdisciplinarity Studies, and Marcella Fassio, Postdoctoral Researcher in Modern German Literature.Elsa Romfeld ist Medizinphilosophin und philosophische Anthropologin; seit 2008 forscht und lehrt sie an der Universitätsmedizin Mannheim im Fachgebiet Geschichte, Theorie und Ethik der Medizin. Besonders am Herzen liegt ihr die Kunst des Lebens und Sterbens, die sie in zahlreichen Publikationen und Projekten multimedial und transdisziplinär seit über 30 Jahren erkundet.1 Als ebenfalls studierte Germanistin stellt für sie die Sprache ein wichtiges Medium sowie Forschungsobjekt dar, das verstärkt Aufmerksamkeit verdient. Unter anderem im Rahmen der von ihr zusammen mit Katharina Fürholzer koordinierten AG „Sprache und Ethik“ der Akademie für Ethik in der Medizin befasst sie sich mit der Frage, wie sich Krankheit und Tod zum Ausdruck bringen lassen. Wir reden mit Elsa Romfeld über das Café SensenMAnn – Mannheims erstes und einziges Death Café, das sie 2018 gründete, und über die Herausforderungen sowie Potenziale einer (pro-)aktiven Auseinandersetzung mit der ‚(Un-)Sagbarkeit des Todes‘.
Das Gespräch mit Elsa Romfeld führten Katharina Fürholzer, Juniorprofessorin für Interdisziplinaritätsforschung, und Marcella Fassio, Postdoktorandin im Bereich Neuere deutsche Literatur
Oral History and Cultural Embeddedness: Narratives Between Medicine and Culture
No full textThis article examines oral history in the context of the cultural specificity of medical discourse. Taking a cultural studies approach and drawing inspiration from methodological approaches in the medical humanities, it analyses how oral narratives about experiences of illness and healing are culturally shaped and contribute to the construction of medical knowledge. The focus is on the question of how cultural, historical and social conditions influence not only individual narratives, but also the reception and interpretation of medical terms and concepts. Selected case studies are used to show how oral history can help to reveal the historicity and cultural dependence of medical discourse and how these narratives invite critical reflection on normative knowledge structures in medicine. The article highlights the relevance of oral traditions for a transcultural examination of health and illness.This article examines oral history in the context of the cultural specificity of medical discourse. Taking a cultural studies approach and drawing inspiration from methodological approaches in the medical humanities, it analyses how oral narratives about experiences of illness and healing are culturally shaped and contribute to the construction of medical knowledge. The focus is on the question of how cultural, historical and social conditions influence not only individual narratives, but also the reception and interpretation of medical terms and concepts. Selected case studies are used to show how oral history can help to reveal the historicity and cultural dependence of medical discourse and how these narratives invite critical reflection on normative knowledge structures in medicine. The article highlights the relevance of oral traditions for a transcultural examination of health and illness
Photographs of Patients in Colonial Cameroon: Humanitarian Need for Aid or Invectivity? An Analysis of Visual Representations of Pathologized Bodies, Exemplified by Ethnographic Photography
No full textIn the early 20th century, colonial photography emerged not only as a documentary tool but also as an instrument of visual power, shaping narratives about colonised peoples in Africa. In the context of German colonial rule in Cameroon (1884-1918), photographic representations of the indigenous population, particularly images depicting sick and pathologised bodies, served complex and often conflicting purposes. The article examines individuals from colonial Cameroon, interrogating the underlying intentions and effects of these images. Through a critical image analysis, this study seeks to uncover the ideological frameworks and power structures embedded within these portrayals. The corpus for analysis is drawn from ethnographic collections, including the photographic work of the Austrian ethnographic collectors Rudolf and Helene Oldenburg, the German colonial figure Günter Tessmann, and the lesser-known doctor Felix Mohn, who operated in Cameroon during the colonial period.
The selected photographs depict individuals with visible signs of disease, deformity, or physical suffering, often captured in sided and frontal poses or arranged against neutral backgrounds, as per the conventions of scientific imagery of the time. These images are read alongside their original captions and associated textual annotations providing a layered understanding of their context and intended reception. In conjunction with ‘Invectivity Studies’, which are characterised by cultural and social sciences, ‘disability studies’, and historical image research, the photographs can be assigned to the category of ‘humanitarian photography’. The latter approach is intended to refer to the entire historical field of the interpretation, use and function of images in a colonialist-ethnological context, which served precisely to generate support for others who were perceived as being in need of help for various reasons. Colonial image archives on the subject of illness raise questions of a general ethical nature (human dignity) as well as the protection of victims and personal rights.In the early 20th century, colonial photography emerged not only as a documentary tool but also as an instrument of visual power, shaping narratives about colonised peoples in Africa. In the context of German colonial rule in Cameroon (1884-1918), photographic representations of the indigenous population, particularly images depicting sick and pathologised bodies, served complex and often conflicting purposes. The article examines individuals from colonial Cameroon, interrogating the underlying intentions and effects of these images. Through a critical image analysis, this study seeks to uncover the ideological frameworks and power structures embedded within these portrayals. The corpus for analysis is drawn from ethnographic collections, including the photographic work of the Austrian ethnographic collectors Rudolf and Helene Oldenburg, the German colonial figure Günter Tessmann, and the lesser-known doctor Felix Mohn, who operated in Cameroon during the colonial period.
The selected photographs depict individuals with visible signs of disease, deformity, or physical suffering, often captured in sided and frontal poses or arranged against neutral backgrounds, as per the conventions of scientific imagery of the time. These images are read alongside their original captions and associated textual annotations providing a layered understanding of their context and intended reception. In conjunction
with ‘Invectivity Studies’, which are characterised by cultural and social sciences, ‘disability studies’, and historical image research, the photographs can be assigned to the category of ‘humanitarian photography’. The latter approach is intended to refer to the entire historical field of the interpretation, use and function of images in a colonialist-ethnological context, which served precisely to generate support for others who were perceived as being in need of help for various reasons. Colonial image archives on the subject of illness raise questions of a general ethical nature (human dignity) as well as the protection of victims and personal rights
Erzählen vom Lebensende: Zur Darstellbarkeit des Todes in Michael Hanekes Liebe
Full text linkMichael Haneke’s feature film Love (2012) revolves around the drastic depiction of euthanasia and addresses questions of death, redemption and the ethics behind it. The film deals with topics such as old age, illness and dying, particularly the responsibility and moral dilemma that caregivers face in palliative care. Love addresses these debates in the context of narrative ethics through a continuous external focalization of Anne’s suffering: The film is not focalized through the protagonist Anne’s perception, but through her husband Georges’ whose feelings and struggles while caring for his wife lie at the narrative center of the film. By narrating the course of Anne’s illness and death externally, Love marks death as unstageable on the one hand and offers a commentary on the narratability of suffering and death on the other: The external focalization on the process of dying enables a narrative beyond death necessarily results in a stronger focus on the experience of the caregivers. The subjective experience of death, suffering and dying is thus located beyond representation.Michael Hanekes Spielfilm Liebe (2012) kreist um die drastische Darstellung einer aktiven Sterbehilfe und thematisiert Fragen von Tod, Erlösung und der dahinterstehenden Ethik. Der Film verhandelt Themen wie Alter, Krankheit und Sterben, insbesondere aber die Verantwortung und das moralische Dilemma, dem sich Angehörige in der palliativen Pflege ausgesetzt sehen. Liebe thematisiert diese Debatten im Hinblick auf die Darstellbarkeit des Todes, indem der erzählerische Fokus auf der äußerlichen Narrativierung des Sterbens liegt: Denn der Film ist nicht durch die erkrankte Protagonistin Anne fokalisiert, sondern durch ihren Ehemann Georges, dessen Gefühle und Ängste während der Pflege seiner Ehefrau das narrative Zentrum des Films bilden. Indem Liebe den Krankheitsverlauf und das Sterben Annes radikal von außen in Szene setzt, markiert er den Tod einerseits als repräsentative Leerstelle und bietet andererseits einen Kommentar zur Erzählbarkeit von Leid und Tod: Die externe Fokalisierung auf den Sterbeprozess ermöglicht zwar ein Erzählen über den Tod hinaus, dieses ergibt sich notwendigerweise allerdings nur aus der Fokussierung auf das Erleben der Pflegenden und Hinterbliebenen. Das subjektive Durchleben von Tod, Leid und Sterben ist damit jenseits der Repräsentation angesiedelt
Editorial
Full text linkDie diesjährige offene Nummer von Re:visit zeigt einmal mehr den Themen- , Quellen- und Methodenreichtum der Medical Humanities wie auch die Vielfalt der involvierten Disziplinen – eine Heterogenität, die im positiven Sinn herausfordert und einlädt, über Alleinstellungsmerkmale des Feldes nachzudenken sowie Reibeflächen und Schnittmengen mit benachbarten Feldern produktiv zu machen. Die sieben Originalbeiträge sind in den Bereichen der vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft, der Linguistik, der Oral-History-Forschung sowie der Psychiatrie situiert; die Quellen reichen von literarischen Texten (inklusive literarischen Selbstzeugnissen) über mündliche Krankheitserzählungen bis hin zu medizinischen Lehrbüchern und kolonialer Medizinphotographie. Dementsprechend ist auch der methodische Bogen weit gespannt: vom close reading über Bildanalysen im Rahmen der Invectivity Studies bis hin zu pädagogisch-didaktisch grundierten Überlegungen betreffend die Rolle der Medical Humanities in der Lehre.This year’s open issue of Re:visit once again demonstrates the thematic, source-based, and methodological richness of the Medical Humanities, as well as the diversity of the disciplines involved—a heterogeneity that is productively challenging and invites reflection on the field’s distinctive characteristics, while also encouraging the fruitful engagement of points of friction and overlap with adjacent fields. The seven original contributions are situated in comparative literature, linguistics, oral history research, and psychiatry; the sources range from literary texts (including literary self-narratives) and oral illness narratives to medical textbooks and colonial medical photography. Accordingly, the methodological scope is broad, extending from close reading and image analysis within the framework of invectivity studies to pedagogical and didactic reflections on the role of the Medical Humanities in teaching
Caring with the Humanities: Integrating the Humanities into Psychiatric Care: A Curriculum Proposal for an Introductory Course for Mental Health Professionals
Full text linkThis article presents the design and pedagogical rationale of Caring with the Humanities, a short course aimed at integrating humanities into psychiatric training. Grounded in philosophy, anthropology, and sociology, the course addresses four key axes: the conceptual foundations of psychiatric diagnoses, the caregiver-patient relationship, the ethical and power dimensions of clinical encounters, and the potential iatrogenic effects of psychiatric institutions. Drawing on thinkers such as Foucault, Goffman, Becker, and Hacking, the curriculum promotes epistemological decentring and reflective practice. It follows the FAIR pedagogical principles (Feedback, Activity, Individualisation, Relevance) and includes participatory modules, such as a diagnostic simulation to highlight interpretive divergences and the constructed nature of psychiatric categories. Through mixed-methods evaluation, including follow-up after three months, the course aims to cultivate humility, critical thinking, and culturally sensitive care. In doing so, it argues that the humanities are not a luxury but an essential dimension of good psychiatric practice
Premio Strega 2025: Inspired Lunacy, Madhouses, Genetics, and Trauma: Mental Health in Contemporary Italian Literature
Full text linkThis report outlines the history and cultural role of the Premio Strega, founded in 1947 by Maria and Goffredo Bellonci and sponsored by Guido Alberti, and highlights its evolution from the original Amici della domenica jury to a broader voting body that includes literary circles, schools, and cultural institutions. It situates the prize within Italy’s literary canon by noting past laureates and reports on the 2025 edition, won by Andrea Bajani for L’anniversario (also recipient of the Premio Strega Giovani). Focusing on the 2025 shortlist, the report examines the striking prominence of mental health as a shared theme across several competing novels, interpreting this visibility as a sign of growing public interest in discussing mental health beyond strictly medical contexts despite persistent stigma in Italy. Following a brief contextual overview of mental health in Italy, the analysis traces key motifs and approaches across the shortlisted works, concentrating on those novels in which mental health is central
An invisible disease made visible: Medicine and art for a paradigm shift in the representation and perception of endometriosis
No full textAmongst the many invisible illnesses, we can also count endometriosis, a chronic, so far relatively little investigated, but quite widespread condition that statistically affects 1 in 10 women. In order to draw more attention to the disease and to the many women who often spend years experiencing debilitating symptoms and suffering in silence, several awareness campaigns take place every year all over the world, mostly in March, which is the international endometriosis awareness month. On March 20th 2024 the city of Innsbruck (Austria) hosted one of such events with the title “Endometriose im Gespräch” (Eng. “Let’s talk about Endometriosis”). Its three highlights were the screening of the documentary nicht die regel (Eng. “not the rule”; Ranya Schauenstein, 2021), a subsequent roundtable and an art exhibit dedicated to endometriosis, the latter organized and created by the Tyrolean endometriosis self-help group. Medicine and art came thus together, and their encounter gave a significant impetus to a meditation on the potential of an interdisciplinary dialogue in view of a society-encompassing paradigm shift in the perception of endometriosis. The present intervention aims at delving deeper into such considerations, while also providing an insight into the designing of “Endometriose im Gespräch”.Unter den unsichtbaren Krankheiten zählt auch Endometriose, eine chronische Erkrankung, die zwar sehr verbreitet ist (1 von 10 Frauen ist statistisch davon betroffen), aber auch noch relativ wenig erforscht. Um mehr Aufmerksamkeit auf sie und auf die vielen Frauen zu lenken, die oft jahrelang und im Stillen unter beeinträchtigenden Symptomen leiden, finden jährlich weltweite Sensibilisierungskampagnen statt, v.a. im März, der konventionell als internationaler Monat der Endometriose gilt. Eine solcher Aktionen wurde am 20.3.2024 in Innsbruck (Österreich) mit dem Titel „Endometriose im Gespräch“ organisiert. Die Veranstaltung zeichnete sich durch drei Bestandteile aus: Sie sah die Vorführung vom Dokumentarfilm nicht die regel (Ranya Schauenstein, 2021), eine anschließende Podiumsdiskussion und eine künstlerische, von der Selbsthilfegruppe Endometriose Tirol gestaltete Ausstellung rund um das Thema Endometriose vor. Medizin und Kunst trafen sich also und ihre Begegnung gab einen bedeutenden Impuls zur Reflexion über das Potenzial eines interdisziplinären Dialogs für einen Paradigmenwechsel auf ganzgesellschaftlicher Ebene in der Wahrnehmung von Endometriose. Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht, auf diese Reflexion genauer einzugehen, indem er einen Einblick in die Konzeption und Gestaltung von „Endometriose im Gespräch“ gibt.