Medicine Against Racism? The Inaugural Lecture of Professor Anne Pollock

Please note doors open for registration at 18:00 with the event due to start at 18:30. A free drinks reception will be provided from approximately 20:00 on the 8th floor of Bush House.

Is medicine fundamentally a tool of racism, anti-racism, or both? This talk draws on ethnographic research among social-justice-oriented physician-researchers in the United States and drug discovery scientists in South Africa to explore ways in which medicine can be mobilised against racism, as well as the limitations and risks of such efforts.

About Anne Pollock

Professor Anne Pollock will discuss the role of medicine as pharmaceuticals, as a profession, and as a social domain in which access to care is demanded and contested. She will argue that medicine should be understood not as an alternative to social justice action, but as a high-stakes component of it.

Professor Pollock is Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine here at King’s, prior to which she taught at Rice University and at Georgia Tech. Her research focuses on bio-medicine and culture, theories of race and gender, and ways in which science and medicine are mobilized in social justice projects. She has published two single-authored books, Medicating Race and Synthesizing Hope, and has recently submitted a third for review. She also serves as an Associate Editor of the journal Bio-Societies, and as a member of the Lead Editorial Team of the journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Techno-science.

About the SSPP Inaugural Lecture Series

This inaugural lecture is hosted by the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy at King's College London and is part of a series held each academic year. These celebrate the contribution of one of our professors to their field and offers the chance for students, staff and the public to hear from a research leader about their work and latest developments in their field of expertise.

As this a free event, we do overbook to allow for no-shows and avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee all ticket holders a place so advise you to arrive in plenty of time.