With generous support from the Humanities Center’s James M. Shumway & Lizbeth A. Pyle Health Humanities Fund, faculty and staff from across campus gathered for (Re)imagining Care, a humanities-based workshop led by Dr. Catherine Gouge, WVU Professor of English.
The session was part of a new initiative started by Gouge and colleagues at other institutions called Care Lab, which explores creative and reflective practices to consider what care is and can be.
The workshop introduced a form of creative reflection that included both drawing and writing and invited participants to think beyond disciplinary boundaries and reflect on the ways we study, understand, and respond to care as a part of the shared fabric of human experience. The results were powerful — conversations among groups ranged from deeply personal insights to imaginative ideas for collaboration, pedagogy, and community engagement.
Participants represented a wide range of disciplines, including journalism, veterinary medicine, psychology, pediatrics, public health, nursing, family and community health, health sciences, library science, history, art therapy, social work, writing studies, English literature, and philosophy. The diversity of perspectives created a vibrant atmosphere of curiosity and connection.
Those interested in learning more about Care Lab or future workshops can contact Dr. Catherine Gouge at cgouge@mail.wvu.edu.