Welcome

image of Andrea Charise standing with her hand on a chair.

Credit: Sarah Bodri

I am an Associate Professor and Associate Chair-Research in the Department of Health & Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where I am also the lead developer of Canada’s first undergraduate program in Health Humanities.

Alongside my undergraduate duties at UTSC, I also hold a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and graduate faculty appointments in the University of Toronto’s Graduate Department of English and the Collaborative Graduate Program in Women’s Health at the Women’s College Research Institute.

In addition to earning recognition for my scholarship and teaching in literature (the field in which I earned my PhD), I have also had a productive career as a medical researcher. This interdisciplinary background has shaped my interest in the relationship between the humanities, health, and medicine in multiple ways, including: peer-reviewed publications, innovative undergraduate curriculum design, clinician training, conference organization, hospital-based narrative training initiatives, keynote lectures and medical grand rounds. I am also the author or editor of two recent books in the fields of Age Studies and Health Humanities (2020).

I was born in Ottawa, Canada, but much of my life has been spent abroad. I was educated primarily in England and Indonesia, and I’ve lived in Italy, Greece, the American Midwest, and the United Arab Emirates. I’m always keen to connect with colleagues who are interested in interdisciplinary conceptualizations of health and illness, especially arts-based health research methods, theory, and creative practices (e.g., literature, film, visual arts).

For an up-to-date summary of my research and recent publications, head over to www.andreacharise.ca