Nathan Carlin named editor of leading international journal

Boosting the prominence of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, Nathan Carlin, PhD, has been named the editor of the Journal of Medical Humanities.

Effective July 1, Carlin, director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, will serve as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Medical Humanities, the leading journal of the field.

“This position will help put the McGovern Center in the national spotlight, which has been a goal of mine since I started here,” said Carlin, holder of the Samuel E. Karff Chair and professor. “The McGovern Foundation has been so good for us, and Dr. Tom Cole has done such great work; we are looking to expand our reach and live up to their expectations.”

Established in 1979, the Journal of Medical Humanities is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal that publishes innovative research, creative scholarship, poetry, essays, reviews, and short reports. It is one of the few scholarly journals focused entirely on medical humanities.

The McGovern Center occupies a unique space in this growing field.

“Medical humanities is taking off across the country,” Carlin said. “But not many medical schools share the unique commitment that we do. A lot of other schools focus on health policy or bioethics, and there are very few dedicated to the humanities and the arts, like our center.”

As editor, Carlin said he wants to involve the whole editorial board in shaping the journal’s future, increasing its international scope.

“I see this as solidifying our national leadership in this field,” Carlin added. “We’re trying to turn the McGovern Center outward with new programs for the Houston community and beyond, and the journal helps us do that.”

Carlin is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and earned his master’s of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees from Rice University. He is the author of nine books.

---