'I suggest that we might... get curious about how the bed is normatively imagined, how it shapes the ways we live our lives, and what this tells us about the spaces and relationships in which we tend to make care (un)available.' Sarah Boira introduces Bed Theory. thepolyphony.org/2026/06/03/b...

'I lay tender flowers and soft grasses on... cyanotype paper and reform my uterus... I think about how often after an interaction with a medical professional I'm left to rebuild myself from the inside out.' Our latest 'In Practice' post @arlenejackson.bsky.social thepolyphony.org/2026/05/29/c...

"Our journey through the woodland is not neutral. Tree roots rise, interrupting, or barring access. The narrow, uneven path is shaped by who we are: disability, gender, class, age, sexuality, race, history..." Kate Marks and Tracey Falcon for our In Practice series thepolyphony.org/2026/04/13/d...

📣 @the-polyphony.bsky.social are now on LInkedIn! Follow this page for some of the most exciting work in the critical medical humanities, published by our talented editorial team 🤩

How can dystopian narratives illuminate real-world structures of coercion, exclusion, and exploitation? Anindita C Xavier explores Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. thepolyphony.org/2026/01/27/n...

"Participants in Chronic Illness Inclusion’s research... explained that disbelief from medical professionals ‘knocked [their] self-confidence’... [they] were left wondering if they were ‘making things up’. Ultimately many were left feeling ‘worthless’." thepolyphony.org/2025/12/22/e...

"Being in nature is about where your body is. Connecting is about how your attention behaves." Dr Yewande Okuleye, in our 'In Practice' series showcasing multi-modal creative engagement with the lived experience of chronic illness, disability and caregiving. thepolyphony.org/2025/11/26/f...

"Rather than asking why specific communities are ‘hard to reach’, perhaps the real question is – have they simply been easier to ignore?" Rianna Raymond-Williams discusses 'Unboxing', a creative elicitation tool she developed for her doctoral study. thepolyphony.org/2025/10/17/e...

Thanks to everyone at and connected to @queercircle.bsky.social who's worked hard on this takeover. I've learned so much! The whole thing is now up on the site to view.

Finding creative ways to reclaim, recentre, and create healthier outcomes for marginalised communities: on the penultimate day of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Ellc looks at how vocal workshops can allow queer folk to more fully embody their voices. thepolyphony.org/2025/09/22/q...

"What forms of care, collectivity and resistance might emerge if we treat institutions not as fixed authorities but as porous, reconfigurable and responsive?" Phoebe Eustance on their artistic research w/QUEERCIRCLE and on Institutional Psychotherapy at La Borde. thepolyphony.org/2025/09/19/c...

In our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover, Anni Raw "reflects on the value and risks of unspoken identity assumptions... and the ongoing work of co-curating a different kind of creative space that is specifically hospitable and safe (enough) for LGBTQ+ communities." thepolyphony.org/2025/09/18/q...

"Many decisions about trans lives are made by people who are not trans... The aim of QUEERCIRCLE’s research commission was for trans young people to reclaim power to express what they need..." Thank to Lu Wilson for Day 3 of our @queercircle.bsky.social takeover. thepolyphony.org/2025/09/17/t...

"Without anchoring in values, practice and accountability... ['safe space'] risks becoming a hollow signifier, more comfort than commitment." Day 2 of the @queercircle.bsky.social takeover! thepolyphony.org/2025/09/16/r...

Excited to share the first post of a takeover from @queercircle.bsky.social on the concept of 'queer space' as a site of health creation. Thanks to Research and Health Lead Frances Williams for setting the scene. thepolyphony.org/2025/09/15/q...

"[N]avigating medical institutions in a second or third language, often under conditions shaped by trauma or displacement... medical English is... the language through which people must articulate pain, negotiate power, and, crucially, consent to treatment." thepolyphony.org/2025/08/08/e...

"itinerancy has become a way to craft an alternative to standardised work opportunities... largely engineered according to neurotypical models... which do not allow my neurodivergences to breathe within my professional identity." - @thewelcomehut.bsky.social thepolyphony.org/2025/07/28/i...

Artist Priyanka Paul unsettles care work as they illustratively and poetically reckon with the reality of children caretaking for their chronically ill parents. thepolyphony.org?p=26475

On Day 6 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover @tasha-tasha.bsky.social calls for literary scholars within Mad Studies & Neurodiversity Studies to engage with one another, exploring the possibilities of and justifications for a ‘Mad[]Neurodiverse’ literary analysis. tinyurl.com/mr3dr8kc

"A critical view of neurodivergent 'compensatory strategies' [in communication] makes it possible to frame them as chameleonic survival abilities to celebrate, rather than bad mimicking of neurotypical abilities." - @marocchini.bsky.social thepolyphony.org/2025/06/27/n...

"There was a possibility of thinking of neuro-divergences, some idea... that one can diverge from the Western-rationality backed classification system of mental disorders": @protichichatterjee.bsky.social on neurodivergence beyond the DSM, via Anh Vo's work. thepolyphony.org/2025/06/26/a...

Day 3 of the Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover: "Who gets to neuroqueer consciously? Who gets to access the knowledge of neurodivergence and queerness?" - Ren, reflecting on training as a school counsellor at Apnishala Foundation’s Khoj School, Mumbai. thepolyphony.org/2025/06/25/n...

"There are illuminating commonalities between prophets and neurodivergent people navigating neurocognitive/value dissonance with oppressive systems, unwilling/unable to tolerate falsehood and oppression". C Day and J Dunn in Critical Neurodiversity Studies takeover. thepolyphony.org/2025/06/24/p...

Beyond excited to be working on this, as well as attending the conference online!

Love this. I still mask in public and it is def stigmatised. Most disabled people I know do not mask and many do not accommodate my masking. I am routinely excluded from social events because I think people find even being out with a masked person embarrassing/ difficult.

I recently saw, and forgot to note, a Judith Butler quote about misconceptions around gender performativity. It included something about there being no pre-gendered subject; it not being the case that people get up in the am and decide what gender to perform. Can anyone point me to that quote? TIA!

Please sign and share widely - Liverpool Hope is one of *the* centres for cultural Disability Studies research. This threat is a threat to the field itself and to its important commitment to challenging societal prejudices and advocating for social justice through cultural analysis.

Practice research from @arlenejackson.bsky.social: "Folklore has it that one who wears a wreath of bluebell heads will only speak the truth... my narrative... lands in reality to acknowledge that... Illness is not a comeuppance for slighting the natural world." thepolyphony.org/2025/05/23/r...

Vinia Dakari and I have received amazing response to our call and have decided to extend the deadline until 21st May to allow more scholars and artists to contribute who are navigating heavy semester workload. Here’s the link: call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2024/11/...

"If we imagine the poem is a body, is it possible to map the experience of chronic illness onto the space of the page?" Thanks to Jane Hartshorn for this latest exploration of creative practice research in our new 'In Practice' project. thepolyphony.org/2025/05/08/p...

In the latest of our new practice research series, Alec Finlay explores the issue of belief in contested chronic illness through poetic subversion of NHS fatigue questionnaires. thepolyphony.org/2025/04/24/p...

So much beautiful work coming in for our new creative practice research series, launched by my colleague Grace Brimacombe-Rand! Here's the latest from Georgia Poplett:

Lea Cooper on practice research, with zines as research evidence, as method and as new knowledge: 'The question of a Mad memorial extended, became a rhizomatic sprawl, because it was also a question about how to grieve without an end, without closure or justice...' thepolyphony.org/2025/04/10/m...

#MedHums101 Medical Humanities questions what it means for bodies and minds to be 'normal'. Read our collection of articles exploring critical medical humanities approaches to neurodiversity & disability. thepolyphony.org/tag/disabili...

#MedHums101 Medical humanities explores and critiques the role of stories and storytelling in our understanding of health and illness. If you're interested in narrative and health, this collection of articles is for you! thepolyphony.org/tag/role-of-...

#MedHums101 Medical humanities champions arts-based and creative approaches. Plenty to read on the role of creativity, visual and material culture in advancing our understanding of health here 👉 thepolyphony.org/tag/arts-bas...

#MedHums101 The medical humanities unpacks the legacy of colonialism and the impact of racism in healthcare. A thought-provoking collection of articles on race, colonialism and health here: thepolyphony.org/tag/colonial...

#MedHums101 Medical humanities ... sees health as shaped by deep inequalities in society. Want to learn more? Read our top articles on health inequalities here: thepolyphony.org/tag/health-i...

🔎 #MedHums101 From interviews and people's stories through to films and visual art, the medical humanities extends what counts as evidence in health research. Read some of our top articles on this theme 👉 thepolyphony.org/tag/evidence/

#MedHums101 Medical humanities puts lived experience at the centre of health research. Check out some of our most read articles on this topic: thepolyphony.org/tag/lived-ex...

#MedHums101 Medical humanities embraces ‘radical’ interdisciplinarity. But what does this actually mean? Read these articles on our site to find out: thepolyphony.org/tag/radical-...

#MedHums101 Medical humanities uses the arts, humanities & social sciences to improve our understanding of health and human experience. Explore articles on this theme to find out more 👉 thepolyphony.org/tag/arts-and...

🚀 Delighted to announce the publication of our new #MedHums101 brochure: ‘What is Medical Humanities?’ We hope it sparks your imagination, inspires your curiosity & encourages you to engage in our vibrant interdisciplinary field! tinyurl.com/what-is-med-...

The first post in a new series about creative practice research - 'In Practice'. Thanks to Sabina Dosani for this beautiful start. Get in touch with @alyfixit.bsky.social if you'd like to contribute. thepolyphony.org/2025/03/24/p...

In the second of a two-part series, researchers work with Squeeze Box, a disability-activist collaborative process, to provide a ‘toolkit’ of creative evaluation methods that go beyond the quantitative demands of arts funders. thepolyphony.org/2025/03/21/a...

Applying feminist new materialism to enable critical, ethical evaluation for creative arts engagements, a group of researchers discuss Squeeze Box, a disability-activist collaborative process. thepolyphony.org/2025/03/14/s...

💫 📣 Check out the stellar line-up of speakers joining us in person in Durham at Critical Neurodiversity Studies: Directions/Intersections/Contradictions (24–26 June 2025). ndhumanities.com/2025/02/26/c...

"The conversation we want to host reaches more people touched by the healthcare system, and it reaches (for example) into the Arctic Circle" - there is more to medical humanities reach than traditional metrics of scholarly impact, says David Beard. thepolyphony.org/2025/02/28/i...