HUM 240 Medical and Health Humanities

The humanities and arts – including literature, philosophy, history, film, performance, music, and the visual arts – can invite new ways of thinking about health, healing, medical culture, and caregiving, as well as human experiences such as birth, death, illness, disability, and embodiment. Creative expression also helps to promote mental and physical health, empathy, and self-reflection. In this course, students will engage with the methods of the medical and health humanities, while articulating their own values, beliefs, and questions about topics related to health and medicine. This course is open to all, including current and future healthcare providers, caregivers, patients, and everyone who values human health and well-being.

Credits

4

General Education Requirements

Arts and Letters

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Articulate the importance of the medical and health humanities for healthcare providers, caregivers, patients, and others

2. Analyze how the details of language and image work to open up meanings about health, illness, and related topics

3. Critically evaluate the impact of cultural beliefs and values on health and medical discourses, practices, and behaviors, as represented in texts from the humanities and arts

4. Explain how and why engaging with writing and art can promote health, empathy, and humility

5. Reflect upon their own experiences with, beliefs about, and values regarding health, illness, and related topics