On November 7 and 8, 2025, the Department of History’s project “Health is Politics” funded and hosted the inaugural graduate conference “Narratives and Counter-Narratives”: Decolonizing Science & Medicine in the histories of science technology and medicine. The event created a space for PhD students from across North America to present their research, share ideas and create new communities. UH graduate students showcased their outstanding research alongside visiting participants from Binghamton University, Harvard University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Pennsylvania. Together, they discussed vaccine hesitancy, racialized healthcare, fisheries and global capitalism, and the epistemological and political framing of death and dying. Organized entirely by UH Graduate students particularly, Katie Truax and Muthuvel Deivendran, under the guidance of Dr. Pratik Chakrabarti, these were two intense days of stimulating discussions, camaraderie, and fun.
Pictured: U.S. History PhD Candidate Rahil Asgari poses a question at the conference.