“Letting Tourette’s be?”, a NeuroEpigenEthics Interdisciplinary lecture

For those who stumble across this page: the recording is meanwhile available on YouTube.

This on-line lecture will take place Thursday 18/11/2021 from 16:00 to 18:00 Central European Time.

If you want to join, please send a mail to jo.bervoets@uantwerpen.be. Zoom details will be sent a couple of days prior to the event.

Abstract:

The focus in Tourette’s research and therapy lies on the question ‘how to combat tics?’. in this talk, Jo Bervoets, Diana Beljaars & Hanne De Jaegher argue that innovative person-centered research into Tourette’s – in line with taking up Tourette’s as part of neurodiversity – allows to reorient from a purely negative framing towards one productive of a generative and positive understanding of it. Insights from human geography and enactive philosophy together with lived experience reports result in the title question, which is both a provocation and a way out of the clinical, empirical and ethical stalemate in which the reality of Tourette’s is reduced to stereotypical tics.

After this talk three respondents will engage with the argument and its conclusion:

  • Jean Steyaert – professor neurodevelopment disorders, child psychiatrist and Tourette’s expert,
  • Christine Conelea – assistant professor child mental health, clinical psychologist and Tourette’s researcher, and,
  • Daniel Jones – PhD researcher human geography, Tourette’s researcher and expert with experience. There’s time for a Q&A of at least 30′ from the audience.

A short 8′ introduction to the topic is available here.

We will be discussing this pre-print (reading it in advance of the meeting is recommended & at the same time entirely optional as we will present a summary of it starting the meeting).

Agenda:

16:00-16:10: Welcome and Introductions Kristien Hens

16:10-16:45: Letting Tourette’s be? Jo Bervoets, Diana Beljaars, Hanne De Jaegher

16:45-17:00: response Jean Steyaert

17:00-17:15: response Christine Conelea

17:15-17:30: response Daniel Jones

17:30-18:00: Q&A