Seminar on "Exploring Medical Humanities: Intersections of Health, Law, and Culture"

On September 17, 2026, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) at Ton Duc Thang University held a seminar in Meeting Room C, featuring two scholars from Bankura University, West Bengal, India: Professor Jayanta Kumar Saha and Professor Sarbojit Biswas.

Adopting an interdisciplinary medical humanities approach, the seminar featured two timely research papers that offered multidimensional perspectives on the relationships among health, law, culture, and human experience.

Professor Jayanta Kumar Saha presented a paper titled “Protecting the Unprotected: Traditional Medicinal Knowledge, Law, and the Indigenous Communities of Purulia, West Bengal”. The presentation focused on traditional medicinal knowledge, the legal framework, and issues surrounding the protection of indigenous communities' rights in Purulia, West Bengal. In doing so, the speaker raised significant questions regarding rights over traditional knowledge, justice, and the legal system's responsibility to protect vulnerable communities.

Professor Sarbojit Biswas presented a talk titled “Pain Demands to Be Felt: Reading the Chronically Ill Body as Occupied Territory”. Approaching the subject through the lens of medical humanities, the presentation highlighted the experience of the chronically ill body while prompting reflection on pain, identity, and the human experience of illness beyond purely medical interpretation.

The two presentations drew significant interest and engagement from faculty and students, particularly given the similarities between the two nations regarding indigenous traditional medical knowledge. The presence and scholarly insights of the two professors helped broaden the scope of academic exchange within the FSSH, while also introducing faculty and students to interdisciplinary approaches to research on health, people, and society.