19 OCTOBER - 13 NOVEMBER 2020
Discussions on the topic of breath have become pertinent with the coronavirus affecting how we think about breath and breathing; lungs and livelihoods; and as we bear witness to the asphyxiation of the planet and people at the hands of the powerful and privileged.
The symposium brings together academics, artists, activists and practitioners who work on the
intersections of social sciences, humanities, health sciences, arts and activism to creatively think
about the many ways that breath and breathing feature in our everyday lives. We invite you to join us to collectively explore themes around breath – the physical processes to inhale, or inspire – and
exhale, or expire – as well as metaphorical or conceptual extensions of what it means to inspire and expire.
The program features diverse presentation formats including academic panels, poetry, photography film, and music.
We invite you to view our virtual gallery where we will be posting creative work which
can be accessed over the period of the symposium. We will also have academic panels every week,
virtual workshops, and keynote speakers.
Keynote Speakers
Dr Ela Manga, Integrative Medical Practitioner
Integrative Medical Practitioner
Dr Ela Manga is an integrated medical doctor, author, speaker, facilitator and a leading voice in the field of mind-body medicine and wellness in Southern Africa and abroad. Ela challenges her audience and is not afraid to bring a disruptive element to the conversation. She does this from a place of deep compassion and insight gained through interactions with her clients, continuous scientific research, and a deep knowledge of ancient wisdom.
Ela is a sought-after speaker, both locally and internationally, and has a revolutionary way of facilitating groups for profound transformation. She has worked with organisations such as Unilever, Deloitte, Avis, Absa, GiBs, RMB, Nedbank, Bain, Primedia, Hogan Lovell, KLM Empowered, L’Oreal, Xavant, Glucode, CIO Anywhere, Sumbandila Scholarship Trust, and Caleo Capital.
Ela is at the forefront of spreading the art and science of breathwork in Africa. She is the founder of Breathwork Africa, an organisation that offers training and support to breathwork practitioners across the African Continent and is committed to empowering individuals and communities with a simple tool for self-awareness and healing.
She is an expert in the field of energy management and burnout. Her first book BREATHE: Strategising Energy in the Age of Burnout, is fast becoming the go to guide for managing energy and optimising physical and mental health.
Social Links
Talk Title: The Art and Science of Conscious Breathing
Time: 15:00
Date: Friday 30 October 2020
Prof. Jane Macnaughton
Director, Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham
Jane Macnaughton is Professor of Medical Humanities at Durham University in the UK and Director of the University’s Institute for Medical Humanities (IMH). After an initial degree in History and English she studied medicine and was Dean of Undergraduate Medicine at Durham until the medical programme transferred to Newcastle University in 2017. She is now a professor in the Department of Anthropology.
Jane has been centrally involved in the development of medical humanities in the UK since 1998. She was part of the working group that set up the Association for Medical Humanities in 2001, and she established the Northern Network for Medical Humanities Research in 2013. Jane has been a member of the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group for established career awards in medical humanities since 2010. Jane currently holds two large awards from the Wellcome Trust: a Development Grant for the Institute for Medical Humanities and a Senior Investigator Award for her project, the Life of Breath.
This interdisciplinary project involves colleagues from literary studies, anthropology, history, philosophy, clinical medicine and neuroscience, and aims to use this combined disciplinary power to influence management in chronic breathlessness. Her research broadly focusses on the idea of the ‘symptom’: its initial appearance, development and evolution in connection with medical contexts, habits and technologies. She continues to be clinically active and is an Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Hospital of North Durham.
Social Links
Talk Title: ‘The breath of degradation’: why is breathlessness invisible?
Time: 16:30
Date: Thursday 12 November 2020
PROGRAMME
19 OCTOBER - 13 NOVEMBER 2020
PROGRAM
Week FOUR
| Presenter | Title | Date | Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Naledi Mokoena | The Dance between Breath & Death | Monday 9 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Khulile Nxumalo | FayaWaNaledi (Fire of Naledi) | Monday 9 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Chisomo Kalinga | Songs and Stories as the Key of Life: Understanding the role of narrative in inspiring health | Monday 9 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Ziyanda Majombozi | “Ndiphefumla Ngenxeba”: Experiences of Mothering in a Pandemic | Tuesday 10 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Angelique Thomas | Sneezing bullets/ Breathing in this lifetime- a letter to my little people | Tuesday 10 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Nosipho Mngomezulu | Hold for sixty, none, two and seven: a recipe for disaster management | Tuesday 10 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Lebohang Masango | 10 000 Stories | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Thokozani Mthiyane | Untitled | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Nixon Malamulo | Imagination power | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 15:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
Workshop | |||||
 | Deirdre Blackie (Dee) | Exhale challenges/Inhale empowerment | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 10:00 | Workshop | View Presentation |
 | Megan Wainwright | Policy and practice of home oxygen therapy in public and private health care – case studies from South Africa and Uruguay | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 13:00 | Loss of Breath | View Presentation |
 | Leslie Swartz | My mother’s lungs | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 13:00 | Loss of Breath | View Presentation |
 | Kate Binnie | Breath-Body-Mind integration | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 13:00 | Loss of Breath | View Presentation |
 | Lenart Škof | From breath to respiratory philosophy | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 13:00 | Loss of Breath | View Presentation |
 | Motlatsi Khosi | Breathing through the noise: The illustration and practice of Critical race theory | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 15:00 | Suffocation | View Presentation |
 | Divine Fuh | Nerds, Bullies and Nannies: Breathing care into the post covid-19 university | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 15:00 | Suffocation | View Presentation |
 | Angelo Fick | Breath, Eyes, Public Memory: representing the basic elements of life in a time of crisis | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 15:00 | Suffocation | View Presentation |
 | Desiree Lewis | Food Breath and the Anthropocene | Wednesday 11 November 2020, 15:00 | Suffocation | View Presentation |
Keynote Lecture | |||||
 | Jane Macnaughton | The breath of degradation’: why is breathlessness invisible? | Thursday 12 November 2020, 16:30 | Keynote Lecture | View Presentation |
 | Ilze Mari Wessels Vuyolwethu Reoagile | WOM{B}_NIFESTOS | Thursday 12 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Matthew Hahn | Tupumue / Let Us Breathe | Thursday 12 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Antony Kaminju | Lockdown Diaries | Friday 13 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
 | Dananayi Muwanigwa | Fighting for Breath | Friday 13 November 2020, 12:00 | Creative Work | View Artwork |
Register
GET ACCESS TO NOTIFICATIONS
Enter your name and e-mail address below to be notified about up-coming events: