Habitus: The health humanities journal of Rush University

Definition of Habitus (Oxford Languages):

1. a person’s general constitution, especially physical build.
2. the way a person of a particular background perceives and reacts to the world.*

*As clinicians, healthcare professionals and scientists, the lens through which we experience the world is beautifully shaped by our work. These are the stories of Habitus.
 

Read now: Issue #1, Spring 2022

Mission

As Rush University’s only health humanities journal, Habitus was founded in Fall 2021 on the principles of promoting creativity, reflection and empowerment for all of its current students, faculty and staff. Through diverse avenues of artistic expression, including poetry, prose, and graphic art, Habitus encourages our Rush community members to celebrate and share narratives as a means to mobilize meaningful change in healthcare.

Membership

Membership is categorized by two groups: “general members” and “executive board members”. General membership is open to all Rush University community members, including students, faculty and staff. General members are all able and encouraged to submit to Habitus during a given open submission period. Executive board membership is limited to members who are elected each April to lead the publication responsibilities of the journal.

Goals

To contribute to the Rush community by providing all students, faculty and staff the opportunity to:

1. Share medical, healthcare and science narratives through multiple modes of creative expression.
2. Educate our community about the diverse experiences and individuals in medicine, healthcare and science
3. Inspire our students to utilize the health humanities as a means for activism, teaching, and innovation.

Submissions

The current reading period for the Habitus: Issue #1 (Spring 2022) is open from October 18th, 2021 to February 27th, 2022. The theme of Issue #1 is “New Beginnings”. All are welcome to submit pieces that correspond to this theme. If you would like to submit a piece that doesn’t fit within this theme, please submit under the subject line “Miscellaneous”. Please email your submission to habitus_journal@rush.edu, and include the following:

Subject Line: First Name_Last Name_Submission Title

In the email body, please include name as you would like it to appear in the journal, preferred pronouns, job title/student title, a brief biography (<50 words) and a brief description of the submitted work (<50 words).

• Attach all poetry and prose as PDF.
• Attach all videos of dance performance or visual art as MP4.
• Attach all photographs or scans of traditional art (sculpture, sketch, painting, etc.) as PDF or jpeg.

News

An article about Habitus, and the team of students behind the journal, was published in February 2022. You can read the story here. 

Contact

Editor-in-Chief: Fae Kayarian

Secretary: Lillian Hallmark

Advisor: Dr. David Ansell, Associate Provost for Community Affairs