Bournemouth University represented at the International Human Science Research Conference, Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina. 24th-28th June.

I had great pleasure in presenting as part of an International panel presentation at the recent IHSRC.  Our paper entitled ‘Working through dialogue, phronesis & techne to develop judgement-based practice’ was well received within the home of phenomenological research and philosophy.  We aim to progress this work across 4 UK and 3 US HEI’s over the next three years.

The quality of papers was excellent and the breadth made choosing which sessions to go to quite challenging.  I will be feeding back some of the highlights to the next Phenomenology Interest Group meeting; papers hinting at a phenomenology of death, the ‘saturation’ of US helping practitioners in the current political situation, evidence based practice as an underpinning of phronesis, and adaptations to dialogal phenomenological method had significant impact and have given me much to think about.  My thanks are due to the FHSS conference funding committee for partially funding my attendance.

We were made very welcome by Wofford College and by the town of Spartanburg.  As the Carolina’s are home to Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Spartanburg has one of the ‘hotlight’ stores (massive sign outside saying ‘HOT NOW’ which flashes when they come out of the fryer), it would have been rude not to…

Dr Karen Rees

Senior Academic Health Visiting and Public Health, FHSS