Mission

StoryPharm aims to establish premodern Health Humanities as an important field with a long history and as a basic attitude to human care throughout time. Recognising the fact that contemporary biomedicine has prioritised disease and the afflicted body part(s) at the expense of the patient who was been objectified and silenced, Storypharm turns to the use of storytelling as a method for humane and effective medical practice, a method that goes back to antiquity.

By performing pioneering research and training in ancient and medieval storytelling, StoryPharm also significantly contributes to the emerging fields of Narrative Medicine, Health Humanities, and Medievalism and the improvement of existing health care systems. Through an interdisciplinary, intercultural and intertemporal research, Storypharm builds on high-level cooperation between the humanities and health sciences and between academic and non-academic sectors.

StoryPharm trains 19 highly skilled Doctoral Candidates from multiple disciplines (Classics, Medieval Studies, Archaeology and Art History, History of Medicine, History of Religion. Linguistics, Philology, Narratology, Psychoanalysis, Cognitive Studies, Medievalism, and Gender Studies) to acquire all competencies needed for them to excel in areas of Research and Innovation (R&I) and Research and Development (R&D) and to address important research, professional healthcare and social challenges.