Bodies and Embodiment in Critical Medical Humanities – Medical Humanities International PhD Summer School 2026

Bodies and Embodiment in Critical Medical Humanities

Deadline for applications: 16 February 2026 10:00 AM CET

The Medical Humanities International Summer School invites applications from PhD students in medical humanities, social sciences and medicine with an interest in interdisciplinary research. This Summer School offers theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches to the study of bodies and embodiment in critical medical humanities. It provides tools to examine the role of bodies and embodiment within lived experiences of illness, pain, health, different bodily and functional variations, and as enacted through discourses and in various practices or policies. The Summer School combines insights from senior scholars, reflection sessions, creative workshops and personal mentoring conversations while providing ample time to connect to other PhD students.

We encourage applications from PhD students whose work engages with health-related topics from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives, including (but not limited to) anthropology, architecture, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, health sciences, history, media studies, music, literary studies, philosophy, public health, sociology, STS, and visual arts.

The Summer School will be held between 8-10 September 2026, in beautiful Vadstena, close to Linköping, Sweden. It is coordinated by the Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Linköping University, in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University.

Accreditation (3 ECTS credits)
Accreditation is optional for all students. All participating students (both accredited and non-accredited) are expected to have completed preparatory work (equal to approximately 3 days full-time work) before the onsite course days. More information can be found in the course plan.
Practical details

The Summer School is free of charge for all PhD student participants, and includes the coach trip between Linköping and Vadstena, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Vadstena on 8th and 9th September, and meals (from lunch on the 8th of September through lunch on the 10th of September). Teaching will be in English.

Twenty places are available for the Summer School:

• five will be allocated to PhD students from the Centre for Medical Humanities and Bioethics, and other Swedish universities;
• five bursary places for PhD students from universities in lower- and-middle-income countries;
• five bursary places for PhD students from UK universities; and
• a further five places are open to any eligible PhD students.

The Summer School is open to active PhD students who have not been awarded a PhD before the application deadline of 16th of February 2026. PhD students who will have submitted their thesis by the application deadline, but who have not yet had their examination or defence (or otherwise had confirmation of their award) are eligible to apply.

For more information about the summerschool and how to apply, visit this website.