Medical Humanities MSc (360G-Wellcome-213083_Z_18_Z)

In undertaking this MSc, I am keen to pursue my interest in the entanglements between subject/object, human/nonhuman, persons/things and how this impacts on the boundaries of what we conceive to be ‘human’. I am particularly interested in representations of the body and its role in breaking down these boundaries. With a focus on organ transplant, I want to explore how the body becomes a site whereby these binaries interact and their boundaries begin to dissolve. In my dissertation, I plan to look at how the ‘gift’ of the organ troubles notions of identity, the complex relationship between donor and recipient, and the location of the subjective ‘I’ when then body becomes strange and alien. I then want to explore how the transplant process can turn bodies into objects of global commodification. I intend to use Titmuss’s study of ‘The Gift Relationship’ to consider how for-profit donation plays in to debates about which bodies matter. I aim to consider how future possible biotechnologies will impact upon these debates, such as animal transplant and 3D Bioprinting. I want to look at both the potential of new technology to overcome these issues, but also the different kinds of questions they invite.