Media Release
Cover of the German version of Parables of Care
Thursday, 24 January 2019
A new translation of Parables of Care makes comic about creative responses to dementia care available to German-speaking audiences
Download Parables of Care (original English version) from City Research Online, City, University of London: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/18245/
Download Parabeln der Pflege. Kreative Reaktionen in der Demenzpflege, von Pflegenden erzählt [Parables of Care German version] from City Research Online, City, University of London: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/21252/
It is also available to download from ChesterRep, University of Chester: https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/621804
Parables of Care. Creative Responses to Dementia Care, As Told by Carers is a research-based comic book originally published in English in October 2017.
Parables of Care has now been released in German translation, translated by Dr Andrea Hacker, from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
About working on the German translation, Dr Hacker said:
“I wanted to share Parables of Care not only with my family and the wonderful carers that help us but with a wider German-speaking audience: Alzheimer, dementia – these affect hundreds of thousands of families in the world regardless of language. Widely sharing our experiences of what works will give everyone a chance to make the best of the affliction – patients and families alike.”
[Read our Q&A with Andrea here].
The comic book was created by Dr Simon Grennan, from the Department of Art and Design, University of Chester, UK; Dr Ernesto Priego, from the Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design, City, University of London, UK; and Dr Peter Wilkins from Douglas College, Vancouver, Canada.
The short comic book includes 14 informative and touching stories, drawn by Simon Grennan with Christopher Sperandio, which were adapted from more than 100 case studies of real-life dementia care situations described by a range of carers. These case studies are available at http://carenshare.city.ac.uk/
The small international team looked to expand the accessibility of this archive of carers’ stories and found that by creating short graphic art stories they could portray the emotional power of these situations. Each story is only four panels and just one page long.
Unlike clinical descriptions, this form enhances the affective aspects of each story, putting the reader at the centre of situations that often verge on incomprehensibility, but which are all resolved. In this respect, each story is universalised and becomes a parable.
The book is available open access to dementia carers and the general public as part of ongoing engagement, training and development programmes at City, University of London, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and The Faculty of Health Sciences at Douglas College, Vancouver, Canada.
About the Translator
Dr Andrea Hacker is an editor, translator and open science professional who lives in Switzerland where she works at the University of Bern. She has previously lived and worked in the US, Russia, Ireland and Germany. She was mentored in literary translation during her graduate studies at UCLA by Michael Henry Heim.
Download Parables of Care (original English version) from City Research Online, City, University of London: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/18245/
Download Parabeln der Pflege. Kreative Reaktionen in der Demenzpflege, von Pflegenden erzählt [Parables of Care German version] from City Research Online, City, University of London: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/21252/
Q&A with Andrea Hacker on her Parables of Care translation: https://blogs.city.ac.uk/parablesofcare/2019/01/24/parabeln-der-pflege-a-qa-with-parables-of-care-translator-andrea-hacker/
For more information, please visit: https://blogs.city.ac.uk/parablesofcare/
Press enquiries contact: John Stevenson, Senior Communications Officer, City, University of London
