DIVISION OF MEDICINE IN SOCIETY, PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

THE INSTITUTE FOR MEDICINE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

 STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK

 

DIRECTOR: JACK COULEHAN, M.D., M.P.H

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: CATHERINE BELLING, Ph.D.

SENIOR FELLOWS:   PAULA VITERBO, Ph.D.

PETER WILLIAMS, J.D., Ph.D.

S. VAN McCRARY, Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H.

                      Rabbi ZEV SCHOSTAK

The Institute for Medicine in Contemporary Society--IMCS--was established in 1990 at the School of Medicine, Stony Brook University to develop interdisciplinary programs that explore the complex relationships between medicine and other dimensions of contemporary culture. The arts, religion, literature, philosophy, law and the social sciences contribute importantly to our understanding of the complex experiences of illness, caring, and healing. With a primary interest in developing links among the schools of the Health Sciences Center, other University departments, and the Long Island community, the Institute serves as a catalyst for discussion, educational experiment, and research in the multicultural environment of Stony Brook.

The Institute publishes Contexts: A Forum for Medical Humanities. In the last year, this quarterly publication has featured issues dealing with complementary and alternative medicine, ethics consultation and end-of-life decisions, interprofessional health care education, and spirituality in health care. In the coming year we will be exploring hospice and palliative care, cultural diversity in clinical medicine, Alzheimer's Disease, and we will publish the winning entries in the second IMCS Writing Contest. We send Contexts to interested persons throughout Long Island and nationally, free of charge.

Throughout the year, the Institute also sponsors lectures and visiting fellowships whose focus is to foster the human and creative dimensions in health care. One major focus of our Artists in Residence program has been the Guild Trio residency, which has brought inspiring performances and provocative interdisciplinary colloquia to the heart of Stony Brook's Health Science Center and Stony Brook University Hospital.

 CONTEXTS: A FORUM FOR THE MEDICAL HUMANITIES

THE DIVISION OF MEDICINE IN SOCIETY