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D1. Reparative Historical Inquiry (RHI)—Refining A Theoretical Approach and Methodology
Friday May 2, 2025 4:45pm - 5:45pm EDT
Fairfax
D1 Reparative Historical Inquiry (RHI)—Refining A Theoretical Approach and Methodology 
Chair: Aimee Medeiros, University of California, San Francisco  
 
Jason E. Glenn, University of Kansas Medical Center 
Carmaletta Williams, Black Archives of Mid-America 
Norlissa M. Cooper, University of California, San Francisco 

Academic medicine is a field in the earliest stages of decolonization. As scholars engaged in decolonizing work at Academic Health Centers (AHCs) begin to interrogate and challenge the legacies of colonialism, empire, and racism that shape the knowledge systems in which we educate learners, we must do so with an eye toward understanding the local histories of colonized medicine. This workshop introduces the concept of Reparative Historical Inquiry (RHI) as a methodology grounded in a commitment to the idea that decolonization must include the voices and expert knowledge of the people harmed by colonization. In essence, RHI represents a type of guerrilla history from the perspective of the people Frantz Fanon called “the wretched of the earth.” In doing so, RHI makes a case for developing a reparative ethos to orient historians and scholars working in colonial sites, from the laboratory to the public health clinic. History is about the production and operationalization of truths. RHI aims to expose truth-making and the motivations driving the development of historical narratives as colonial projects. In doing so, we no longer engage in distracting debate around truths but rather motivations and consequences to dismantle racism in the health sciences. And we do so with a sense of urgency and in the spirit of health justice. As James Baldwin reminds us, “History is not the past. History is the present.”

1. Understand Reparative Historical Inquiry (RHI) as a theoretical approach and a methodology for engaging in anti-racist community-based collaborative research.
2. Critically explore the essential tenets of RHI as a methodology.
3. Learn to use the RHI method to promote reparative history telling and reconciliatory action.

Moderators
AM

Aimee Medeiros

Assistant Professor, History of Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Aimee Medeiros is an assistant professor of the history of health sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Her work focuses on the reciprocity between diagnoses, preventive care measures, and societal expectations of the body in medicine.
Speakers
JG

Jason Glenn

University of Kansas
NC

Norlissa Cooper

University of California, San Francisco
avatar for Carmaletta Williams

Carmaletta Williams

Black Archives of Mid-America
During my time in academe, I taught English and African American Studies.  I love to hear stories in all forms about Black life and culture.  My mother was a nurse for 48years, medical care and treatment of BIPOC also interests me.  We must hear, capture, preserve and share the... Read More →
Friday May 2, 2025 4:45pm - 5:45pm EDT
Fairfax Sheraton, Level 3
  Concurrent Session, Discussion

Attendees (18)


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