Medical Humanities, COVID-19, and Global Healing: An Interview with Prof. Karen L. Thornber

As a leading scholar in the fields of comparative and world literature and environmental humanities, Professor Karen L. Thornber has recently published a major scholarly monograph, Global Healing: Literature, Advocacy, Care (Brill, 2020), which is a monumental work on medical and health humanities as well as a timely publication in a pandemic age. In this book, she discusses how literature and literary scholarship not only highlight the importance of shattering disease stigmas, humanizing healthcare, and prioritizing care partnerships, but also remind people of the value of providing comfort and understanding for those who have lost loved ones, or who are caring for loved ones. In this interview, Professor Thornber shares her thoughts on the writing of this book, the field of medical/health humanities, and the COVID-19 pandemic.