Crisis or Continuity
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 | 4:45 – 6:00pm ET |Old North 205 (Main Campus) | RSVP
Sponsored by the Department of French & Francophone Studies and the Gender+ Justice Initiative at Georgetown University.
What happens when crisis is not exceptional, but woven into the everyday relations of care? This keynote explores reproductive harm through the lens of narrative medicine, asking whether violence in obstetric and gynecological care should be understood as rupture or as the continuation of deeper structural failures. This talk considers how literature and narrative medicine help us name harm, trace its circulation, and imagine more just, sustainable, and reparative forms of care.
This talk is open to all and will take place in English.
Dr. Loic Bourdeau is a scholar of French studies and the medical humanities. He is currently Associate Dean for Research and Engagement at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. His keynote draws on his 2026 book, Des mots qui touchent. Obstétrique et gynécologie autrement (Words That Matter. Rethinking Ob/Gyn Care).