Medical apartheid author Harriet Washington to speak on campus Oct. 11
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Acclaimed author Harriet A. Washington will speak about the “Unethical Treatment of Marginalized Populations in the Name of Medicine” on Tuesday, Oct. 11, as part of the Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society’s Fall 2022 Lecture Series.
This event will be held in room 4010 of the College of Health and Human Services building at 7 p.m. Washington will be discussing her award-winning book, "Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present," in light of persistent health-care disparities brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The talk is free and open to the public. Students can earn WMU Signature credit. Parking is free.
The center is hosting Washington in partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.
Washington is a prolific science writer, editor and ethicist. In addition to Medical Apartheid, her work includes "A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind," "Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Informed Consent in Medical Research" and "Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself – And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future." Washington has won numerous awards, including National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Oakland Award and the American Library Association Black Caucus Nonfiction Award.
There will be a book signing directly after Washington’s lecture. In-store and online shoppers receive a 15% discount from event partner this is a bookstore/Bookbug, an independent bookstore in Kalamazoo, with the coupon code WMUEthics on all Washington titles. Books will also be on sale at the event. Order books in advance of Dr. Harriet Washington's visit
Arrangements for Washington's appearance were made through UTA Speakers, New York, New York.
Learn more about the Ethics Center
About the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society
In August 1985, the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society was created after WMU faculty across the curriculum met to discuss their common interests in studying and teaching ethics. Each academic year, the center sponsors several public presentations addressing a wide range of ethical issues.
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