10 February 2012
'Silent teachers' celebrated in new anthology
'Silent teachers', people who donate their bodies when they die in order to help to train the next generation of doctors, scientists, dentists and surgeons, are celebrated in a new University of Dundee anthology.
'In Memoriam' features work from internationally renowned artists and writers who collaborated with staff and students from the University to pay tribute to those individuals who donate their body to science. It will be launched at a special instalment of the University's Saturday Evening Lecture Series next week.
The book sees medical and creative writing students explore the lives and achievements of the donors. Interviews with people, who intend to donate their body, and the families of those who have already done so, help to tell the stories of their lives and personalise the individuals who give hope to others after their own death.
Calum Colvin, one of Scotland's top contemporary artists and a Professor at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, has contributed original artwork to In Memoriam, which celebrates these lives in both words and in a series of beautiful images.
Award-winning writers Alan Warner, Christopher Reid, and John Carey also contribute new work to the book, which asks the reader to reflect on their own life, as well as those who donated their body to be used in medical research.
The SELS event, taking place on Saturday, 18th February, will be delivered by a trio of academics from the University who have been involved in its making. Each will discuss a different aspect of the book, illustrating its multi-layered approach.
Kirsty Gunn, Professor of Creative Writing, will talk about the professional and student writers who contributed to this unique project, while Professor Sue Black, Director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, will outline the importance of the silent teachers to medical science. Professor Colvin will then discuss the inspiration behind his stunning images and the process of creating them.
Professor Gunn, who wrote the book's introduction, said she had once attended an anatomical science lecture about the importance of students and scientists being able to work with real human bodies, and that it had left an indelible mark upon her.
"I can vividly remember how he talked, movingly and with conviction, about the solemnity of the human body after death, and about the importance of the human body as a site for understanding and furthering our enquiry into anatomical science," she said.
"He was sensitive about the ethical issues surrounding human life into death but very eloquently explained that by knowing more about the body we could know more about ourselves.
"Only the actual body would do, as no simulacrum or virtual computer generated version could grant the student and scientist such access to the mystery of our limbs and bones and organs. No plasticised look-alike could stand in for the vulnerabilities of our tissue and skin and flesh.
"So when I heard about the idea of producing a book based on those who had willingly given this precious gift to research, it seemed the ideal opportunity for my creative writing students to enter this scientific world, and make work in response to the inheritance each and every one of us come to, in the end.
"The pages of this book bring art and science together at the University of Dundee. Here in these pages are a range of internationally known writers and poets and artists who have all taken as a point of departure a consideration of the end of life. Hopefully In Memoriam will act as part of the reader's own contemplation of the role the body plays in our lives."
The In Memoriam lecture featuring Kirsty Gunn, Sue Black, and Calum Colvin takes place at 6pm on 18th February in the Dalhousie Building.
The Saturday Evening Lecture Series, which this year celebrates its 88th anniversary, is Scotland's oldest continuous free public lecture series. It attracts thousands of people each year to hear varied and thought-provoking lectures from prestigious, world-class speakers.
This tradition will be continued in 2012, with talks from an exciting line-up of leading figures from the worlds of art, academia, literature and science. Drinks receptions will follow each lecture, and where appropriate, book-signings will be held.
Overflow theatres may be in use, and seating will be filled on a first come-first served basis on the night so patrons should be sure to arrive early if they would prefer to be seated in the main lecture theatre.
Tickets for In Memoriam are available from the University's Online Store, by emailing events@dundee.ac.uk, or from the events office on 01382 385564.
In Memoriam is published by Discovery Press and is available, costing £9.99, from the University website, Amazon and all good booksellers.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
