‘Mixed Medicine: Plural Healing Cultures’ Symposium (28-29 May 2026)
Call for Abstracts
We are delighted to announce a call for abstracts for an upcoming interdisciplinary symposium on the theme ‘Mixed Medicine: Plural Healing Cultures’ to be held over one and a half days from 28-29 May, 2026 at the University of Hong Kong. This event is co-organised by the Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit (MEHU) and the Department of History, with the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law (CMEL) as a supporting organisation. The symposium will feature a keynote session, individual and panel presentations and a roundtable discussion to close the event.
The symposium will examine the cultural, historical and practical intersections between diverse healing philosophies and explore the dynamics of medical pluralism, the challenges of integrating different medical systems and the complex forces shaping the outcomes, from the parallel development of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine frameworks in Hong Kong to their extensive intersecting networks with other healing systems regionally and globally.
We welcome wide-ranging discussions exploring how different medical systems have complemented, co-existed, and clashed within various geopolitical contexts and timeframes. How have narratives of healing influenced cultural identities and shaped the ethics surrounding healthcare? How have they contributed to the discourse on medical pluralism and transcultural healthcare exchanges in an era of globalization? The symposium encourages scholars across disciplines, from history, anthropology, social sciences, ethics and the medical humanities to medicine, public health and allied health disciplines, to delve into the histories of the co-evolution of diverse medical systems, rather than focusing on a single system. Papers discussing any aspect or timeframe of this co-evolution are welcome.
*Call for Abstracts Submission Deadline: Friday 10 April, 2026 5:00 pm (HKT)
Submission Guideline
Submissions should include an abstract of no more than 300 words and a biography of 50 words. Proposals for panels of 3-4 presentations are also welcome, and should include the aforementioned information along with the panel’s topic.
Abstract Topics
We welcome submissions on the following themes (not limited to):
- Cultural ethics and philosophies in healing
- Historical development of plural healing practices and their sociocultural significance
- Medical education and curricula
- Narratives by practitioners and healers
- Patient perspectives and experiences
- Policy and regulation in the evolution of mixed healing cultures
- Artistic expressions and their impact on medical practices
- Health messaging
- Medical infrastructure
Abstracts can be submitted via the link below.
Submission [Click Here]
The deadline for submissions is 10 April 2026, and notifications of the outcome will be sent approximately two weeks after the submission deadline.
For general inquiries, please contact the conference secretariat at mehu@hku.hk.
For inquiries about abstract submission, please contact Dr Ria Sinha at riasinha@hku.hk or Dr Carol Tsang at cctsang1@hku.hk.