Summer 2005

PSYCHIATRISTS AND HEALERS: UNWITTING PARTNERS
A Challenge for Transcultural Psychiatry in Times of Globalization

Runajambi and the Transcultural Psychiatric Section, World Psychiatric Association 2005 Symposium encouraged scholarly discussions about the unsuspecting partnership of psychiatrists and traditional healers from around the world.  Concomitantly, the meeting in Quito facilitated a friendly and unique encounter of transcultural psychiatrists with Yachactaitas (Quichua-Inca traditional healers) of the Andes.

HEALER-PHYSICIAN COLLABORATIONS IN THE AMERICAS: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' EXPERIENCE

The main goal of this meeting was to provide the most up-to-date exposure to innovative interdisciplinary research and initiatives on healer-physicians collaborations in the Americas.  The meeting focused on the achievements of the Indigenous and Western medical systems collaborative endeavors for the betterment of physical and mental health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

MIND-COMPUTER INTERACTIONS

This was an engaging discussion of the most innovate research being conducted in the field of computer-mind interactions. In the March session, the audience learned that computers can assist research and treatment, but daily computer use can also cause stress. Currently, virtual reality is used to treat phobias and computer chips to restore vision. The April session was a lively discussion of the beneficial and harmful effects of Internet and computer usage on mental health. The Luce Seminar attracted a diverse audience of students, professors, and community members.

HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THE USA

This was a highly successful series of high-caliber speakers.  It has been one of the most popular Luce Faculty Seminar themes. Health inequalities and disparities according to ethnicity, age, gender and health conditions were examined.  The timing of our seminar was remarkable and the issues raised were in line with the Institute of Medicine's breakthrough report: "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care." More information on this report could be found at Unequal Treatment

THE SCIENCE OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Original, interdisciplinary research on the nature, mechanisms, and effectiveness of alternative and complementary medicines has been presented.  A very successful series on a current topic that attracted many people both from the Claremont Colleges and the surrounding communities.

Spring 2000

FINE ARTS, BRAIN, AND MEDICINE

The most up-to-date exposure to innovative and interdisciplinary research on the interactions between the fine arts practices, brain/mind, and physical and mental health.  We also covered amazing research on the relationship between artistic creativity and mental disorders.
  The lecture topics have been selected with the general idea of illustrating the workings of the embodied mind and the environmentally embedded brain.

Spring 1999

CULTURE, BRAIN, MIND & MEDICINE

An innovative interdisciplinary and cross-cultural effort for understanding some aspects of the human mind was undertaken for the first time at Pitzer, Claremont McKenna, and Harvey Mudd Colleges. The Luce Faculty Seminar on "Culture, Brain, Mind, and Medicine" was held during the past spring (from January 26 to April 20, 1999). The lectures were open to the public and attracted professionals and lay persons from the surrounding communities. Overall, approximately 500 participants took advantage of the event.