This conference explores the role of the medical humanities in rethinking how we understand bodies, health, and illness.

Drawing on the concept of BodyCultures, it aims to move beyond traditional dualisms (body/mind, nature/culture, biological/social) and to approach the body as a relational and dynamic entity shaped by biological, social, environmental, and political factors.

Bringing together international scholars, the conference highlights how interdisciplinary approaches can contribute to redefining medical knowledge, practices, and categories.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

• 1:30 – 2:00 pm: Welcome and registration
• 2:00 – 2:15 pm: Introduction (Katrin Solhdju, UMONS)

Panel 1 – Challenging Dualisms (Chair: Julie D’Haussy, UMONS)

• Estelle Carde (Université de Montréal)
• Stéphanie Pache (UQAM)
• Shannon Sullivan (University of North Carolina, Charlotte)

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Panel 2 – Unstable Objects and Medical Complexity (Chair: Charline Marbaix)

• Aude Bandini (Université de Montréal)
• Monica Greco (University of Bath)
• Urte Laukaityte (Aarhus University)

Panel 3 – Technologies, Materialities, and Bodily Mediation (Chair: Laurence Dufour-Villeneuve)

• Giulio Galimberti (State University of Milan)
• Inna Häkkinen (University of Helsinki)
• Charline Marbaix (UMONS) & Hugo Mantion (ULB)

Friday, June 19, 2026

Panel 4 – Resistant Objects and Body Ontologies (Chair: Katrin Solhdju, UMONS)

• Peper Rivers (Indiana University Bloomington)
• Jason Pribilsky (Whitman College)
• Laurence Dufour-Villeneuve (Université de Montréal/UMONS)
• 12:00 pm: Conference closing

Practical Information

• Université de Mons – Rosa Parks Campus
  Avenue Frère Orban 9, 7000 Mons
  Room 2.09 (2nd floor)
• Easily accessible from Mons train station