Comic Books for Better Care: 1st Meeting of Patient-Comic Book Authors
Comic Books at the Bedside: A Unique Day of Discussion at the School of Medicine.
Three comic book artists agreed to come and lead discussions and workshops for students at the University of Montpellier (UM) at the invitation of the faculty of medicine, which regularly uses comics as a teaching tool in courses such as narrative medicine and many others… Each of them has published a comic book about their own healthcare journey and their relationship with medicine, addressing different health issues but sharing certain common experiences that outline a universal dimension to the “caregiver-patient” relationship.
Alice Baguet, Olivia Hagimont, and Matthieu Blanchin will explore, expand upon, and examine the patient-caregiver relationship. Through these discussions, the meaning of “care” in our society will be addressed from philosophical, political, and ethical perspectives, as well as from an artistic one.
This event is part of the comic book-based teaching initiative launched in 2023 by the Faculty of Medicine in collaboration with the University’s central library service: 250 healthcare-related comic books are now available at the medical libraries in Nîmes and Montpellier.
What does it mean to be a caregiver or a patient? How do we provide care? How do patients view the medical profession? Through the accessible and original medium of the comic book, the public will discover how this “9th art”—which gives voice to the experiences of these patient-authors—has become an educational tool at the Faculty and contributes to training by prompting reflection on the meaning of care. The appeal to the general public also lies in the sharing of experiences related to care in general and the expression of patients’ lived experiences.
On Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., come meet Alice Baguet, Olivia Hagimont, and Matthieu Blanchin for book signings and meet-and-greets at the health sciences student booths, the university library, and a bookstore that will be open all day. To wrap up the day, a public debate will take place in the late afternoon in the anatomy lecture hall of the Faculty of Medicine’s Historic Building.
Practical arrangements:
- Date:Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Location:Historic building of the Montpellier School of Medicine, 2 Rue École de Médecine
- Target audience:general public
- Guests: Alice Baguet, Olivia Hagimont, Matthieu Blanchin
Program:
- Comic Book Fair from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., featuring meet-and-greets between guests, students, and healthcare educators, as well as book signings: Sign me up for the workshops
- Discussion workshops at 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.: focusing on comics written by patients who are established comic book authors, led by faculty members, with the authors in attendance: 2 workshops, open to health sciences students at the University as well as any student interested in healthcare, the caregiver-patient relationship, or issues related to the body
- Booths: University libraries (UM’s Joint Documentation Service), student organizations, and the bookstore “En traits libres” (sales and book signings), providing opportunities for the general public to meet and interact, with support from the Art & Culture Department of the University of Montpellier’s Campus Life Division and the student health organizations of the Montpellier and Nîmes Faculties of Medicine.
- Public Roundtable Discussion at 5:30 p.m. on the caregiver-patient relationship, the experiences of both patients and caregivers, sharing and documenting these experiences, the role of literature in general and comic books in particular in the education of medical and healthcare professionals (narrative medicine), and new approaches to healthcare education.
Joint initiative: authors and faculty, with support from the University of Montpellier’s Library and Information Services and the Art and Culture Department
Audience:students and the general public
A guest bookseller will be on site (Librairie En traits libres)
