This interdisciplinary panel at the RMMLA 2025 seeks to examine the complex intersections of colonial power, medical practice, and literary representation and welcomes proposals of 250 words on topics that address the following questions. How does literature engage with colonial medical interventions, their successes, failures, and lasting impacts on colonized populations? What does medical fiction and film tell us about the tension between Indigenous healing practices and Western medicine, the role of medical “experimentation” in colonial contexts, and the literary afterlives of colonial medical disasters?

We encourage a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, including postcolonial theory, history of medicine, cultural studies, and narrative analysis. Papers may focus on specific literary works, authors, or broad thematic inquiries into colonial medical discourse.

Please submit an abstract (300 words max) and a brief bio (150 words max) by April 1, 2025 to Sandra.S.Mefoude.Obiono@Dartmouth.edu. We welcome submissions from scholars at all career stages.

Conference Dates: October 16-18, 2025

Location: Spokane, Washington at the Centennial by Davenport Hotel