Date: 18 September 2019
Title: The Physician as Revolutionary: From Frantz Fanon to “Che”
Times: 6 – 7pm
Cost: £3
Speaker: Professor Abraham Verghese, Stanford University Medical School
Description:
The commitment of physicians to the wellbeing of patients and society often puts them at odds with the state. So it is surprising how short the list of doctors is who followed their conscience and took up the cause of revolution, putting their lives and livelihoods at risk. Instead, there are numbers of examples of infamous physicians who engaged in torture and repression, acting as instruments of the state. This lecture profiles a few individuals whose stories stand out; physicians whose revolutionary actions were an extension of their physicianhood and a natural consequence of upholding the oath they took on entering the profession.