Dust to dust (McGuire, 2019)
Black lung is a disease often relegated to the domain of the history book. But can historical research tell us…
We’re one of the Best COPD Blogs 2019!
We’re delighted to share the news that Life of Breath has been named one of the Best COPD Blogs of…
Time to catch our breath…
After two years of preparation and four busy months, our Durham exhibition draws to a close this week. This post…
Mysterious Breathers: How insects breathe
This featured guest post was originally published under the title “Gasp! A breathing puzzle” on Noticing, a science blog by…
Anthropology of Tobacco (Russell, 2019)
How do we understand the relationship between tobacco and humans in light of the fact that tobacco has become one…
Mining Memories with Donald Trump in the Anthropocene (Rose, 2018)
What defines “coal identity politics” and what role might they have had in the election of Donald Trump? In this…
‘The troubled breath of so many’: On Sam Guglani’s “Histories”
Life of Breath Principle Investigator Prof Havi Carel explores themes of breath and illness in Sam Guglani‘s novel Histories (Riverrun, 2017)……
Dear Breath: using story structure to understand the value of letter writing for those living with breathlessness (Penny & Malpass, 2019)
Can using letters help create a personal narrative and public story, generating new ways of relating to breathlessness? A new…
Breathing calmly in hospital yoga practice
Life of Breath researcher Krzysztof Bierski writes… We are sitting together on a hospital bed. You have your legs crossed…
Policy Recommendations
For World COPD Day 2018 and the publication of Life of Breath’s new Policy Report, consultant respiratory physician and honorary…
Reading Breath in Literature (Rose et al, 2019)
At a key moment in Hamlet’s duel with Laertes, Gertrude cries out that Hamlet ‘is fat and scant of breath’…
“Letter to my Breath” at Fun Palaces, Bristol
Life of Breath collaborator Elspeth Penny writes about her experience facilitating a “Letter to my Breath” workshop at Barton Hill…
“Breathe Happy, Breathe Healthy” Bristol mural installation
As part of the Fun Palaces campaign in October this year, Life of Breath collaborated with local Bristol artist Sophie…
Breathing through oxygen technology in Uruguay and South Africa (Wainwright, 2018)
Life of Breath collaborator Dr. Megan Wainwright introduces her new paper “Exploring ambivalent human-oxygen technology-world relations through the lens of Postphenomenlogy”…
Phenomenology’s contribution to health and illness
A new book on phenomenology and illness entitled Existential Medicine: Essays on Health and Illness is now out, with a chapter by…
Graphic Medicine: Breathing new insights into illness narratives with comics
Brian Callender is an internal medicine physician from the University of Chicago interested in the health humanities, with a focus on…
‘Race Correction’ in Medicine: A History of Lung Function Measurements
The Life of Breath project was delighted to host Professor Lundy Braun in Bristol recently to speak at our bi-annual…
Breathlessness: from bodily symptom to existential experience (Williams & Carel, 2018)
Tina Williams and Havi Carel have contributed a chapter on breathlessness to this new essay collection which explores the experience…
Invisible Suffering: The Experience of Breathlessness (Carel, 2018)
In this book chapter in the volume Atmospheres of Breathing, Prof Carel considers breathlessness from a phenomenological perspective, reframing it…
Respiratory Philosophy
A new book on the philosophy of breathing entitled Atmospheres of Breathing is now out, with a chapter by Life…
Responsibility without blame
Breathlessness is far broader than a physical symptom. It affects people’s mood, self-esteem and social links and often involves feelings…
Exploring the logic of respiration
Music & Mindful Yoga Therapist Kate Binnie joined Life of Breath as a researcher in January 2018. She writes: I…
Chronic breathlessness: re-thinking the symptom (Macnaughton et al, 2018)
The Life of Breath team, like our colleagues at Breathe Oxford, recently responded to the proposal that defining chronic breathlessness as…
Smog in a Time of Tobacco Control (Russell, 2017)
While in Delhi for a recent UN convention on tobacco control, anthropologist Andrew Russell reports on widespread ‘astroturfing’ – large…