Health, Diseases and Environment: Between the Global and the Local
Université de Lorraine, Nancy (France)
5-6 November 2025
As Latour argues in Où atterrir, comment s’orienter en politique (2017), today the term “local” is often associated with nostalgic and defensive positions, linked to particularity, subjectivity, and sensibility, in contrast to the “global,” which is viewed as a horizon of universality, objectivity, and rationality. To claim proximity to patients or communities suffering from toxic exposure risks being perceived as merely expressing emotional responses rather than offering an analytical perspective on the situation.
This is probably why discourses on health, disease and the role of the environment in the emergence of new diseases often prioritise global approaches such as One Health, Global Health and Integrative Health.
In this two-day conference, we aim to take an analytical and critical approach to universal concepts and norms that tend to obscure differences between
individuals, the heterogeneity of situations, and localised or individualised approaches to disease and health.
Our aim is to examine local health practices, particular behaviours, care strategies and exposures to toxic substances in order to understand how people develop care strategies that differ from those promoted by global public health norms, or how individuals sometimes challenge or reject recommendations disseminated by public health discourses.
We particularly welcome proposals from the health humanities, as well as from scholars in literary studies, history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, medical sciences, and public health. Interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the humanities, social sciences, and medical sciences are strongly encouraged.
Scientific Committee
Claire Crignon (Université de Lorraine)
Emanuelle Simon (Université de Lorraine)
Ingrid Volery (Université de Lorraine)
Zoë Ghyselinck (Ghent University)
Jürgen Pieters (Ghent University)
We invite proposals on the following topics:
1. The History of Global Health, One Health, and Critical Approaches to These Concepts
Contributions that explore the historical development of global health frameworks, One Health, and the critical perspectives that challenge or expand these ideas.
2. Definitions of the Local and the Diverse Expressions and Manifestations of Local Discourses
Submissions that examine the concept of the “local” in health and disease discourses, highlighting how local contexts shape and inform health practices, beliefs, and interventions.
3. Field Research Addressing Health and Disease Issues Often Overlooked or Undocumented
Contributions that present specific field research uncovering situations and health challenges that are typically underrepresented or unexplored in mainstream health
analyses.
Please send your abstracts (max. 300 words) to claire.crignon@univ-lorraine.fr
In addition to paper proposals, we are also looking for session chairs and discussants, as well as Health Humanities scholars interested in giving short presentations on research and teaching projects during the first day of the conference.
DEADLINE for submission: 15 May 2025