[ecrea] CFP Critical Studies in Television: The Medical Issue (Summer 2016)

Members may be interested in the following call for papers:

Critical Studies in Television: The Medical Issue (Summer 2016)

Medical and health programmes have been a broadcasting staple since the 
early days of television, often providing educational and informative 
content as well as entertaining audiences. In Britain, this was 
fulfilled by a mixture of factual and entertainment programming ranging 
from long running surgery documentary Your Life in Their Hands (BBC, 
1958-1964) to serial hospital drama Emergency Ward 10 (ITV, 1957-1967), 
forerunners of familiar contemporary fly-on-the-wall documentary series, 
reality shows, dramas and ‘medicated’ soaps.

In what will be the 30th anniversary of the landmark BBC hospital drama 
Casualty (BBC, 1986-present), this special issue seeks to ‘take the 
temperature’ of medical television in the twenty-first century. On 
flagship UK channels BBC1 and Channel 4 healthcare oriented programmes 
ranging from high-end Sunday night drama Call the Midwife (BBC, 
2011-2014) to reality formats One Born Every Minute (Channel 4, 
2010-date) and 24 Hours in A&E (Channel 4 2011-date), are routinely the 
highest rated. Discourses of crisis and controversy surrounding 
healthcare leading up to the passing of the Health and Social Care Act 
in the UK, and the implementation of “Obamacare” in the US, have thus 
been accompanied by an apparent renaissance in medical and healthcare 
television. And issues, strands and clusters have correspondingly 
emerged in particular forms, registers and modes with noticeable 
regularity. We are therefore particularly interested to receive 
submissions that address:

1) Bio-ethical issues, affective labour and neoliberalism – i.e. issues 
faced by health workers and carers working in neo-liberal 
medical/domestic environments, and concerning care of vulnerable groups 
in society across a wide range of formats, e.g. Getting On (BBC, 
2009-12), 23 Week Babies: the Price of Life (BBC, 2011), and in the US 
context Nurse Jackie (Showtime, 2009-present), Breaking Bad (AMC 
2008-2013), Miracle Workers (ABC, 2006), and The Advocate (CBS, in 
development).

2) Nostalgia – i.e medical dramas set in the past and/or with a 
nostalgic affective register, e.g. Call the Midwife, Doc Martin (ITV, 
2004-present), Breathless (ITV, 2013), The Royal (ITV, 2003-11) and The 
Indian Doctor (BBC, 2010-present)

3) Documentaries and reality/factual series – especially about the state 
of a nation’s health or health services, e.g. Keeping Britain Alive 
(BBC, 2013), 24 Hours in A&E, and US cross channel fundraiser Stand Up 
to Cancer.

4) Body image TV – i.e. programmes featuring sensational medical and 
health conditions, e.g. Embarrassing Bodies (Channel 4, 2007-present), 
Bodyshockers (Channel 4, 2014) or medical makeovers e.g. Extreme 
Makeover (ABC, 2002-7), Supersize vs. Superskinny (Channel 4, 2008-present)

5) Dedicated healthcare channels – e.g. SisterTalk.

6) Celebrity healthcare professionals – e.g. Dr Robert Winston, of The 
Human Body (BBC, 1998) and Child of our Time (BBC, 2000-present), Dr 
Christian Jesson of Embarrassing Bodies, Supersize vs. Superskinny, 
Drugs Live (Channel 4, 2012)

We invite 500 word proposals to be submitted to (j.hallam /at/ liverpool.ac.uk) 
and (hannah.hamad /at/ kcl.ac.uk) by 30th November 2014.

Deadline for 6000-8000 word essays (including endnotes) will be 30th 
September 2015 for publication in Summer 2016.



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