EUGLOH Open University

Our series of lectures will focus on the notion of placebo. In addition to exploring the meanings of the term in medicine, we will take stock of the various aspects and layers of the term's extensive web of meanings. The meanings and associations connected with the term are highly controversial, and the process of interpretation is therefore promising. On the one hand, there are the meanings of absence, deception, false illusion, and on the other, the creative power of imagination, the scientifically measurable effects of caring attention, and the ritual aspects of any healing process.

The topics of the lectures will cover a broad interdisciplinary spectrum, from drama therapy to literary theory of the simulacrum, from changing fashions in management to the specific scientific understanding of early modern alchemists or the controversies around the Eucharist in 17th century religious debates. It is hoped that the intersections of these themes will not only shed light on the overlaps between disciplines, but also help us to rethink these boundaries and reflect on our assumptions related to the connections between healing, beliefs, and the imagination.

This is a series of lectures presented by invited speakers. Talks are normally 45 minutes long, with 15 minutes Q and A at the end, and are streamed through a closed channel on YouTube.

Number of ECTS: 3

Since Open University "Placebo: faking or making?" is a multidisciplinary course, it is open to all levels and majors.

Grades will be calculated based on an online exam, a multiple-choice quiz with questions from each lecture. Study material: the content of the online lectures. Recorded versions of lectures will be available for viewing after the event.