Past Events

During the reporting period, the IHH was active in two main ways: 1) supporting graduate student research in health and humanities through the Ridge Scholarship program, and 2) by creating community conversations around three main topics, health equity, death, dying, and grief, and writing about experiences of health and heath care.

Financial Support for Student and Professional Research

Ridge Scholars and Symposia

The Ridge Scholars Program has existed for many years. Since our last Center Report in 2016, the IHH has offered twelve, $1,000 Ridge Scholarships to UM students whose research intersects the humanities and health/healthcare. Each student is required to work under the mentorship of a UM faculty member, utilize the resources of the Ridge Library, and seek input from practicing healthcare professionals. The students presented their work at either public symposia (2019) or GradCon (2021 and 2022). Scholarship recipients and their projects are listed in Appendix A.

Ridge Library

Funded by an anonymous donor, the Ridge Library is housed in The Learning Center (formerly Center for Health Information) at SPH. It is accessible to UM students, faculty and staff through the Mansfield Library. The collection includes books and journals that reflect the IHH focus on humanities, healthcare ethics, professionalism, interprofessional practice, the experience of illness, reflective practice, narrative medicine, health inequities and justice and global health. UM Ridge Scholars are encouraged to request additions to the collection that would further their research and/or be of interest to others in their disciplines.

The Global Health Lecture Series

Graduate Student Conference (GradCon)

During 2021 and 2022, the IHH sponsored the lunchtime panel by catering lunch and supporting the development of a panel conversation about a topic at the intersection of health and the humanities.

19th Amendment Anniversary Events (most events delayed due to COVID)

The IHH was a major sponsor of the series of events planned in celebration of the passing of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Specifically, the IHH sponsored the keynote address and reception. The keynote address, Western Women Suffragists, was planned to be delivered by Dr. Tiffany Lewis on April 9, 2020.

Joint Sponsorship/Planning/Participation

(Offered Free to All Attendees)

2022

Re-Imagining Death Film Series

“Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying Loss, and Grief” is community wide conversation funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities, which was awarded to Ashby Kinch, one of the IHH board members. The wider net of these conversations is led by “professors in a range of disciplines and includes short lectures on topics designed to generate discussion, including death rituals and beliefs around the world (African, Hindu, Irish, Middle Eastern); death experiences from past time periods, shifting attitudes about death and dying in cultural practices like funerals, cremation, and end-of-life experiences, and new movements to de-stigmatize discussions of death” (https://www.missoulapubliclibrary.org/home/programs-events/ongoing-programs/re-imagining-death/)

In collaboration with the NEH-funded project “Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying Loss, and Grief”, the Humanities Institute, and the Roxy Theater, the IHH organized a free 6-part film series that included a conversation led by an academic at the University of Montana.

Ghost, facilitated by Dr. Matthew Strohl
Spirited Away, facilitated by Dr. Brian Dowdle
Drive My Car, facilitated by Dr. Matthew Strohl
Evening, facilitated by Dr. Amy Ratto Parks
The Sea Inside, facilitated by Dr. Jannine Montauban
The Sixth Sense, facilitated by Dr. Matthew Strohl

The Human Imaginatino of Grief: Views from Art, Literature, and Science (October 2020)

In collaboration with the NEH-funded project “Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying Loss, and Grief”, the Humanities Institute, and the Missoula Public Library, the IHH helped facilitate a conversation between Cathy Weber, Visual Artist, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, Neuroscientist and Physician, and Dr. Ashby Kinch, author of Imago Mortis: Mediating Images of Death in Late Medieval Culture.

Grieving As a Gorm of Learning: Links Between Mind, Body, and Our Social World (October 2020)

In collaboration with the NEH-funded project “Re-imagining Death: Conversations about Dying Loss, and Grief”, and the Humanities Institute, the IHH facilitated a lecture by Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, Neuroscientist and author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How we Learn from Love and Loss, moderated by Dr. Chris Comer, author of Brain, Mind, and Narrative Imagination.

2020

Health Inequities in Plain Sight: Our Teeth and Eyes (January 15, 2020, UM Campus)

This event was developed as a collaboration between the IHH and the Global Public Health Lecture Series. IHH Executive Director, Amy Ratto Parks, moderated a conversation between Lori Aleksic, a local dentist with Twin Cranes Dental Group, and Brian Sippy, local Ophthalmologist and Vitreo-Retina Surgeon with iCare Consulting, PLLC. The conversation was the kickoff event for the Spring 2020 Global Public Health Lecture Series.

Film Screening and Discussion: Creating Gender Inclusive Schools (February 2020, UM Campus)

The IHH was one of the sponsors who supported the distribution and screening fees, as well as event fees for the film’s director, Jonathan Skurnik, to visit UM and discuss his film with students as a part of the 19th Amendment Anniversary Events.

Far From Home: Understanding Refuge Health in Missoula (April 2020) - Cancelled due to COVID

This panel event was developed in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee in Missoula, UM’s Humanities Institute, UM’s School of Public and Community Health Sciences, specifically, the Global Public Health Lecture Series. Our goal was to educate the Missoula community about the specific kinds of barriers refugee families experience when they resettle, particularly in regards to their health. The entire multi-hour event was set to include the panel conversation as well as a reception afterward, catered by the IHH, in order to extend and foster a personal connection to the conversation developed by the panel.

This round-table discussion was set to be moderated by Ingrid Calle, a physician with Partnership Health Center in Missoula. The panel presenters were to include:

Jesse Littman, Caseworker, International Rescue Committee in Missoula
Joel Kambale, Interpreter, International Rescue Committee in Missoula
Jessica Stonefield, Public Health Nutritionist, Missoula City-County Health Department
Abby Berow, Director of Clinical Operations, Partnership Health Center
Diana Diakow, Doctoral Candidate in School Psychology, University of Montana, Department of Psychology

Writing Workshops (June 2020, Montana and beyond)

By popular demand, the Board decided to continue its series of writing workshops, and even grow our offerings during COVID. The workshops, taught by local authors David Allen Cates and Susanna Sonnenberg, focused on offering a structured space into which participants and write, talk, and explore the craft of writing about their experiences with health and wellness. There were six workshops in 2020, many of which dealt directly with the experience living through a historic time.

One group in particular, took a workshop called “Writing the Pandemic” which took place for the month of May. Because our past workshops had all taken place face to face, they had all included local participants. But because this was a Zoom-based workshop, the participants were from Missoula – and all over the United States. Toward the end of May, we began talking about how to publish some of their work. Seven of the authors agreed to share their writing and we began the process of designing, formatting, and publishing their writing, pictures, and bios on the IHH website.

What We Mean When We Write About the Body: Where Health and Literature Meet (September 7, 2020)

As a part of the 2020 Montana Book fest, the IHH participated in this panel. The speakers included Amy Ratto Parks, the Executive Director, Erik Norbie, a current board member, Danielle Cooney, a 2019 Ridge Scholar, and Jenny Montgomery, local business owner and community member. Each panelist offered a brief reading of their work that explores the connection between health and writing before taking questions from participants about their own work in this area.

The description says, “Although the experiences of the human body are very often private experiences, many of us turn to writing and literature as a way to process and make sense of ourselves in the world. We ask questions like: How do we make meaning of our own or other’s pain, illness, or limitations? How does the personal become political? What is the story of the body? Can language be a physical experience? Each panelist in this group brings experiences learning and writing across genres and from diverse health and medical experiences.”

Neurohacking for Resilience (December 17, 2020)

Carolyn Bernstein, MD, FAHS, is a neurologist specializing in Headache Medicine is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bernstein has won Harvard Medical School awards for teaching and for humanism in medicine. She was also awarded the National Headache Foundation’s Healthcare Provider of the Year award in 2008. In her talk, which was designed for an open audience, she lectured about the way our nervous systems understand and encode stress. She then taught physical techniques for using your own neurology to bounce back more easily from stress, grief, uncertainty, and isolation.

This event was attended by 38 community members, UM faculty, and UM graduate students from a wide array of disciplines such as neuroscience, physical therapy, nursing, computer science, public policy, public health, communicative disorders, experimental psychology, forestry, international programs, the honors college, pharmacology, division of biological sciences, creative writing, and the law school.

2019

Aid in Dying in Montana: A Decade of Practice Following Baxter v Montana (September 2019)

The IHH used grant funds from the Metcalf Grant to sponsor the Aid in Dying Symposium, hosted by the School of Law on September 6, 2019. The Symposium included: The symposium included the following perspectives:

attorneys involved in Baxter;
a member of the Baxter Court;
legislators and activists;
family members of patients who wanted and were able, or unable, to access AID;
clinicians: physicians who have provided AID in the wake of Baxter, their understanding of the standard of care; willingness in the physician community to speak openly about this practice; how this has impacted the physician’s practice and the patient’s experience at end of life for those seeking AID; including any adverse events occurred for providing physicians, e.g. criminal, civil, or disciplinary investigation/action/sanction.

Writing Workshops (2019)

By popular demand, the Board decided to continue its series of writing workshops. The workshops, taught by local author David Allen Cates, focus on offering a structured space into which participants and write, talk, and explore the craft of writing about their experiences with health and wellness. The spring workshops, "Write Your Stories: A Workshop for Health Practitioners" was a seven-week writing class for people working in any of the diverse fields that require them to provide care for others on a daily basis. (Nurses, midwives, social workers, therapists, physical therapists, doctors, and more.) There were 10 participants. The fall workshop, “How to Write Your Health Journey,” was a four-week workshop and had 6 participants. It took place from October 7 - October 31 at Partnership Health Center.

Health Equity Summit: Stories and Strategies for Western Montana (October 2018)

The Health Equity Summit: Stories and Collaborative Strategies for Western Montana was held on Monday, October 29, 2018 at the University Center at the University of Montana. The event was heavily supported by a grant from the Lee and Donna Metcalf Charitable Trust. The event also received support from the College of Humanities and Sciences, the Department of Sociology, the College of Health Professions & Biomedical Sciences, and the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship.

Although the conversations felt intimate and small, we hosted a total of 87 people at events that ranged from 8 am – 6 pm. There were 55 people registered on Eventbrite. 15 people registered the day of the event, 5 people came, grabbed materials, and chose not to share their information and 12 presenters/speakers, most of whom stayed for many of the day’s events.

Summit Participants

Our participants were from 32 different groups who had a shared interest in a conversation about health equity in Western Montana. The groups included the following: City of Missoula, Community Food and Agriculture Coalition, SCIGAIA (“helps organizations and communities gain insight through data and stakeholder views”), UM Rural Institute, Community Medical Center, Parks and Recreation, Missoula in Motion, Missoula Food Bank Network, Missoula Transportation Office, Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities, Missoula City-County Health Department, Rockwood Leadership Institute, Missoula Urban Indian Health Center, Montana Public Radio, Partnership Health, Western Montana Mental Health Center, Partnership Health, Community Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Professionals: doctors, nurses, midwives. From UM: UM Sustainability Program, College of Health Professions & Biomedical Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, English, Math, Biology and Neuroscience, MCCPHD (Public Health), Psychology, Health and Human Performance.

Summit Speakers and Presenters

Our speakers and presenters represented some of these groups as well:

Chris Comer, Professor, Biology and Neuroscience
Jenny McNulty, Dean of College of Humanities and Sciences, University of Montana
Elizabeth Paddock, MD. Family Medicine physician at Partnership Health Center; Faculty, Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana.
Sarah Aronson, Poet, Host and Producer of Montana Public Radio’s “The Write Question.”
Jan VanRiper, JD, PhD, former Executive Director, Institute for Health and Humanities
Janna West Kowalski, MS, Community Health Coach, Community Health Rankings and Roadmaps.
Stephanie Land, author of MAID: Hard Work, Low Pay, and A Mother’s Will to Survive
Reed Humphrey, Dean, College of Health Professions & Biomedical Sciences
D’Shane Barnett, Missoula Urban Indian Health Center
John Poore, Rockwood Leadership Institute
Lisa Beckiewicz, Missoula City-County Health Department
Rayna Sage, Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities

Dance Macabre: Reimagining the Dance of Death (November 2018)

Organized by Professor and IHH Board member, Ashby Kinch, The Danse Macabre was a collaborative multi-media performance work that took place at the Missoula Senior Center on November 4, 2018. The performance brought together graduate student from UM (in Creative Writing, Literature and Teaching), dancers from Bare Bait dance company, and the Missoula Senior Center. As Kinch wrote in his funding proposal, “the event re-imagined the medieval Danse Macabre which involved art, dance, music, and poetry performed in specific spaces around cemetery portals and parish churches to commemorate the dead who have passes as well as prepare the living to face their own mortality.” There were 62 attendees at this event.

2017

Festival of the Dead, Co-sponsored by IHH (September - November 2017)

Writing Your Obituary, Co-sponsored by IHH and ZACC

Though many of us have written obituaries for others, writing an obituary for yourself provides a valuable perspective on how you hope to be seen by others. As a genre of writing that compresses an autobiography into short space, obituaries compel the writer to pay close attention to the use of salient incidents and grounding principles in each person’s life.

RE-Imagining the Dying Process, Co-sponsored by IHH and ZACC

This workshop asked participants to explore their expectations, hopes, and fears for how they will die, and push toward imagining a “good death” for themselves. What would it look like? What would it feel like? What would it take, in advance, to make such a death possible? How can we use our personal and collective creativity to imagine what our death events could be? Workshop attendees emerged with a “death plan,” which they wrote and embellished in the workshop, and could revise in the years to come.

Film: The Sea Inside

Based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro’s 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Panel discussion followed.

Film: Harold and Maude

The story of the emotional and romantic bond between a death-obsessed young man from a wealthy family and a devil-may-care bohemian octogenarian. Panel discussion followed.

Culminating Event Featuring Writers Reading Works from the Writing Workshops

And evening of reading and dinner, hosted by Burns St. Bistro.

And Then She Passed: Writing about what we see when we see people die

Although medical personnel work to keep their patients alive, they also participate in end-of-life care and witness death and dying. How does it feel to witness? How do our feelings change over time? What do we remember? Why do we remember? And what are the stories that stick with us? This 2-part workshop encouraged reflection on those experiences through writing. David Allan Cates, a widely-published writer, and former director of Missoula Medical Aid, conducted this workshop open to all medical personnel.

Telling Our End-of-Life Stories, Co-sponsored by IHH and Hospice of Missoula

Working with nurses who work in Hospice, this session focused on caregiver perspectives on death, providing them an opportunity to write about intense and meaningful experiences they have had in end-of-life care that might produce powerful narratives and aid in better understanding for themselves, and for others who might read them. Fred Haefele, a registered volunteer at Hospice Missoula, conducted these workshops. Fred is an accomplished writer and writing teacher, who has taught the University of Montana, and conducted community writing workshops.

Life Happens in Five Senses: Creating Images to Explore Death, Co-sponsored by IHH and Tamarack Grief Resource Center

This multi-part workshop series was for adult writers who have shared experiences of death, dying and grief. This workshop aimed to help participants capture the memory, spirit, and full spectrum of human qualities of someone they’ve loved and lost by writing images that explore the elements that define and sustain our lives: food/water, sleep/rest, breathing, and shelter. Lead by Amy Ratto Parks, MFA, an instructor at the University of Montana, and Molly Murphy, LCPC and grief specialist from Tamarack.

IHH Co-Sponsors Suicide Prevention Week

Suicide Prevention Week in Missoula is set for September 9 -15, 2017. This is our community's way of recognizing World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, and National Suicide Prevention Week. A week of free events and activities are scheduled with the theme "Your Tomorrow Matters." Suicide Prevention Week is sponsored by the Institute of Health and Humanities, United Way of Missoula County, Missoula City-County Health Department, and Tamarack Grief Resource Center. Don’t miss the IHH-sponsored documentary Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 was shown on Wednesday, September 13th at 7 pm at the Roxy Theater.