HEAL: Health, Environment, Arts and Literature is an interdisciplinary research group working in the fields of Medical and Environmental Humanities. We look at the literary, artistic, cultural and historical representations of health and illness, both human and nonhuman, and are particularly interested in the strong connections between ill human bodies and the degradation and destruction of natural habitats and blue spaces. The recent appearance, spread and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of our interests and we are currently looking at textual and visual articulations of lockdown, social distancing, contagion and care. HEAL also plays an intense curatorial role in the areas of dance, performance, photography, installation, video art and film in arts centres, universities and urban sites, collaborating with local, national and international artistic communities. Based at the University of Oviedo, our team is composed of academic specialists from our home institution and the universities of Newcastle and Harvard, as well as a number of healthcare professionals.
