Dr. Heidi Lawrence
Associate Professor, English / Director Professional &
Technical Writing Graduate Programs at George Mason
University https://english.gmu.edu/people/hlawren2
Title: Resisting Medicine: Considering Consent, Ethics, and
Rhetoric in a Post-COVID Era
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant social upheaval
and a revolution in the ways that publics were asked to engage with
science and medicine. This talk will consider the ways in which this
new access to and reliance on scientific and medical information in the
public sphere coincided with new forms of resistance to medical
authority. Vaccines, in particular, are a key driver of this resistance.
Ongoing backlash to vaccines and vaccine mandates is fueled by
worries about the still unknown long-term effects of the vaccine,
rumors of unknown side effects, and fears about rising levels of disease
and death across all causes. The result is a newer and larger public with
bigger and broader skepticisms than in vaccine controversies past.
These publics are not just refusing vaccines for themselves as the
outcome of concern, but are: seeking to dismantle policies requiring
vaccination; gathering and connecting the unvaccinated online to share
alternate medical information and access to providers friendly to their
beliefs; refusing medical procedures, such as blood or organ
transfusions, because they do not want vaccinated products; and
challenging doctors and medical systems for new accommodations,
resisting old norms. This talk will examine how notions of patient
consent, ethics, and rhetoric are challenged by this new landscape
marked by such widespread resistance.
Thursday, Jan 25, 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/62926643611?pwd=dGxwMENDNmVFMmg0MmwvTmJXRUxEdz09
Meeting ID: 629 2664 3611 /
Passcode: 754020
