Lecture: "Is It Me or My Brain? Vital Images of Depression" by Joseph Dumit (UCLA: Los Angeles, California, 12 March 2001)
Forwarded to HISTNEUR-L from the UCLA Humanities Consortium listserv. -- Russell Johnson The UCLA Humanities Consortium Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Seminar Series presents JOSEPH DUMIT "Is It Me or My Brain? Vital Images of Depression" Monday, March 12 4:00 - 6:00 PM Herbert Morris Seminar Room, 306 Royce Hall This talk considers the many ways in which brain images of depression affect people’s understandings of themselves and others. Drawing upon his fieldwork and autobiographies and using the work of anthropologists and philosophers, especially Wittgenstein, Professor Dumit traces the changing status of neuroscientific facts as they circulate into people’s lives. Following specific instances where images of depression as a brain-based disease challenge people’s autonomy, he asks whether a new kind of person has been emerging: a pharmaceutical self. Joseph Dumit is assistant professor of Anthropology and Science & Technology Studies in the Program in Science, Technology & Society at MIT. He has published "Cyborgs and Citadels: Anthropological Interventions in Emerging Sciences and Technologies," co-edited with Gary Lee Downey (SAR Press, 1997), and "Cyborg Babies: From Techno-Sex to Techno-Tots." He has just completed "Mindful Images: Brain Scans and Personhood in Biomedical America." The seminar is the fifth of an eight-part series focusing on the theme "Vital Signs." The series is made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and contributions from The Center for Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Studies, The Center for Medieval and Rennaisance Studies, and The Center for Modern and Contemporary Studies. Limited seating available, no reservations required. Parking is available for $6 in Lot 5 of the UCLA campus. For further information, please contact Corie Goodloe at cgoodloe@humnet.ucla.edu, or at 310.825.9581. The UCLA Humanities Consortium 310 Royce Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095-1461