GEOGRAPHY

What are health and medical geographies? 🏥

If you’re anything like me, then you probably didn’t realise that health and medical geographies (HMG) were actually a ‘thing’. But they are! HMG has evolved to looking at the spatial, social, cultural, and biological aspects of lots of different diseases. You may have encountered the epidemiological transition model, which has become even more relevant since COVID, as ‘developed’ countries in North America, Asia, and Europe face growing threats from emerging infectious diseases, which can sometimes jump from animals to humans (e.g: Ebola originates from fruit bats!).

💡 Things to consider

• Medical geography goes wayyyyyyy back: Medical geography’s roots lie with Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago, but grew very recently. Nowadays, the core of health/medical geography is the idea that we cannot understand how diseases spread or why people get ill without looking at the environments around them, and how they behave. These ideas became more common as the HIV/AIDS pandemic emerged during the 1980s, confounding scientists and the public. Despite initial fears that the disease could spread via handshakes (ever seen that famous photo of Princess Diana?), it was later discovered that HIV spreads via sexual contact, infected blood/needles, and breastfeeding. In fact, HIV originated in the Congo potentially centuries ago, and it somehow jumped from primates to humans - perhaps because rural West Africans consumed infected bushmeat. It was in this climate of ecological crisis (the Ozone layer! Oil spills!), new diseases, and post-War population growth and rebuilding that medical geographies came into its own.

• But health and medical geographies uses modern methods: Just because HMG likes maps (and, OK, colouring in), doesn’t mean that it’s not relevant. In fact, the cartographer Jon Snow is responsible for one of the most important diagrams ever, which showed how cholera spread through contaminated water sources:

  

  Jon Snow’s revolutionary map

  In 1854, no one understood why they were dying, and why infant mortality rates were so high. But this map showed that cases of the communicable (spreadable) disease clustered around certain water pumps on Broad Street, London. Although people didn’t learn until a bit later on that we should wash our hands and not defecate wherever we liked, Snow’s map was groundbreaking.

  Now, however, we can use GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to map and control the spread of diseases. Although it sounds complicated, the WHO used technology a lot when it came to keeping a tracking of COVID. Take a look at the dashboard below:

  

  WHO dashboard

• We’ve realised that lots of different factors impact diseases (especially non-communicable ones!): Although you might not realise it, due to the focus on COVID over the past few years, non-communicable diseases are fast becoming the biggest threat in many countries around the world. These are diseases that we cannot catch, but which become more likely due to a combination of lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors. For instance, The Bahamas is facing an obesity epidemic due to the fact that it has to import 90% of its food supply. Most of this comes from America, which sends Bahamians food that is of such poor quality, and so high in fat, sugar, and salt, that it is deemed ‘export only’. This happens to lots of island nations, particularly as climate change increases food security, but many areas of developed countries are vulnerable to rising diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression rates too (particularly in the current cost of living crisis, when families may have to rely more on processed food and the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables are rising).

🔎 Find out more

• For awesome maps and graphs, check out Gapminder:

• The World Bank

• Our World in Data

• Here’s a list of some health geography journals (some of which are open access, so take a peek!)

• Why is it important that we learn about HIV/AIDS?

• Check out this 2019 report into non-communicable diseases in The Bahamas

• On cultural/income factors and infectious disease

ENGLISH

A False Dream - The Failure of the American Canon 🇺🇸

The Gilded Age (the period from about the 1870s to the late 1890s) was a time of rapid economic growth in the United States, placing it for the first time as an important contender on the world stage. This was a big deal for America, who then began to focus on their arts and culture, especially in creating a great literary canon. But was the American canon as ‘great’ as it seemed? And what was real American literature really like?

💡 Things to consider

• Patriotism: America became obsessed with presenting themselves as a country of high culture. It was always in dialogue and in resistance to Europe, who had a centuries-long rich cultural history and literary canon, trying to prove its worth against the global scene. There was a huge focus on patriotism, with ideas of the ‘American Way’ and ‘American Dream’ - the idea that anyone can make their fortune in America.

  

  The real American Dream?

• The Real America: The canon represented the ideal portrayal of American society, however the reality for most Americans was not one of freedom and adventure. There is the assumption that ‘American’ is one thing - literature cannot tell the story of one nation because the nation is so many different statuses and ethnicities. The canon initially excluded Native American literature, works by people of colour and female authors. In The House of Mirth, a satirical novel navigating the politics of New York high society, Wharton detailed a kind of America that people who wanted a great American canon did not want to see. She wrote about people she knew in real life, who then recognised themselves in her novel, causing a hugely publicised scandal. Wharton highlighted an America driven by greed, hypocrisy, and puritanism, directly interrogating patriotic values.

  

  Wharton’s America: driven by greed

• Influences: Real American literature did not take itself too seriously. The global success of novels such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes cemented the popularity of satire and comedy that contradicted the precious aspirations of the canon. Writers also became greatly influenced by Hollywood and cinema, creating more visual works as seen in the highly popular and sensational California noir genre.

🔎 Find out more

• The House of Mirth (1905) - Edith Wharton

• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925) - Anita Loos

• The Formation and Transformation of the American Literary Canon - Šárka Bubíková

🍒 The cherry on top

• 🕵️  Forensic Linguistics: How can language nerds solve crimes? From the Unabomber's manifesto to online footprints, language can be a powerful tool for both solving crimes and raising ethical questions. A great video if you’re interested in Linguistics or Modern Foreign Languages!

• 🏦 Barclays and Tesco Bank: What happens when one company buys another? How do law firms negotiate the acquisition of one company by another? And what does this mean in practice for a company’s clients? Check out this LittleLaw article, which explains exactly what is happening with Barclays and Tesco Bank. An interesting read for those interested in Law, Finance, or Business.

• ☀️ Solar Energy: What are the latest advancements in solar energy? The race against the clock is on to find the most efficient and effective ways of generating electricity from sunlight. This article is a fascinating read if you are interested in Physics or Chemistry!

👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…

• 4th March - Imperial College London Economics, Finance, and Data Science Taster Lecture

• 4th March - UEA History Taster Lecture

• 4th March - Cambridge Supporting International Students – Teachers’ and Advisers’ Q&A (session 2)

• 5th March - QMUL Humanities and Social Sciences Alumni Panel

• 5th March - Sidney Sussex Cambridge Competitive Applications Webinar (Session 1)

• 5th March - University of Oxford History Super-Curricular Lecture

• 6th March KCL Spanish and Portuguese Taster Event

• 6th March - UEA Politics and International Relations Taster Lecture

• 6th March - QMUL Science and Engineering Alumni Panel

• 6th March - Murray Edwards College Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages Webinar

• 6th March - Sidney Sussex Cambridge Competitive Applications Webinar (Session 2)

• 6th March - University of Oxford Webinar for Adults supporting Physics Applicants

• 7th March - UEA Nursing Webinar

• 7th March - QMUL Medicine and Dentistry Alumni Panel

• 7th March - Sutton Trust Summer Schools Application Deadline

• 7th March - King’s College Cambridge Small Subjects Residential Application Deadline

• 7th March - St John’s College Cambridge Teachers and Advisors’ Q+A

• 7th March - University College Oxford Study Day for English, History, and Classics

• 7th March - University of Oxford Online Maths Club

• 8th March - UEA Women and Healthcare Webinar

• 8th March - Clare College Cambridge Teachers Day

• 9th March - Oxford English Faculty State Schools’ Open Day

 🗳️ Poll