Humanitarian ethics and disaster bioethics are relatively new fields within bioethics and humanitarianism. One contributing factor to the ethical challenges that is frequently raised relates to the cultural differences between people and communities brought together by crises. Disaster responders regularly struggle with different ethical perspectives that arise while responding which can be linked into cultural differences. This can sometimes lead to well-intentioned efforts that cause unintended harm. Different practices and priorities can lead to ethical dilemmas where different views may not be well understood by those attempting to work together. In keeping with the conference theme, the arts and humanities can engage the past to energize future deliberations around humanitarian ethics because of how they articulate cultural and ethical values. As people encounter one another in humanitarian settings, their conversations can lead to important insights into the earlier roads that have brought them together. We will present examples of how we have used the humanities to stimulate discussions about ethics in two course we teach separately: one on disaster bioethics and one on Global Health Humanities. We engage students with various items from the arts and humanities, including history, art, photography, poetry, literature, music and audiovisual sources. We use these strategies to encourage reflection by students and discussions between students that lead to deeper understanding of individuals and their cultures with an aim to facilitating better dialogue over bioethical issues. As we develop this approach ourselves, we welcome input from those with other examples and strategies to share with us.
Ayesha Ahmad – Global Health Humanities – St George's, University of London