Medical and Health Humanities

Directors: Matthew L. Newsom Kerr and Daniel Turkeltaub

Students in the Medical and Health Humanities minor apply the breadth of the Humanities to key questions and problems that define medicine and health. By exploring the history of medicine, narratives about sickness and health, religious and philosophical beliefs about disease and wellness, and the ethics of health care, students develop a deeper understanding of both the practices of medicine and health sciences as well as the experiences of illness and disability across cultures. Courses emphasize humanistic skills that graduate health and medical programs prize. This minor is open to students majoring in any discipline.

Requirements for the Minor

Seven courses from among the list of approved courses (see below). Courses not included in the list below may count towards the minor with the approval of the program directors.

No more than three courses can be taken in the same department.

No more than three courses can be lower-division.

Anthropology Courses

ANTH 134. Human, Health, and Culture - Medical Anthropology

ANTH 135 / PHSC 135. Human Development and Sexuality

ANTH 172. Anthropology of Aging

Art and Art History Courses

ARTH 66 / RSOC 66. Fabricating Nature in East Asia

Classics Courses

CLAS 41. Word Workshop - Biomedical Terminology

CLAS 173. Bath and Body Works in Ancient Rome

CLAS 174. Eureka! Exploring the Body in Ancient Greece and Rome

Communication Courses

COMM 114 / GNSX 105A. Body Politics (Prerequisites: COMM 1, COMM 10 for COMM majors, or Junior standing for non-majors)

COMM 115G / GNSX 140. Gender, Health, and Sexuality (Prerequisites: COMM 1, COMM 10, PSYC 1, PSYC 2, or SOCI 1)

English Courses

ENGL 28: Writing Well(ness): Narratives of Illness, Loss, and Recovery (Prerequisites: Critical Thinking and Writing 1 & 2)

ENGL 35: Speculative Futures and Bioethics

Experiential Learning for Social Justice Courses

ELSJ 198. Applied Ethics Internship: Healthcare (Prerequisite: Internship acceptance through Markkula Center)

Gender and Sexuality Studies Courses

GNSX 105A / COMM 114. Body Politics (Prerequisites: COMM 1, COMM 10 for COMM majors, or Junior standing for non-majors)

GNSX 137 / HIST 133. History of Sexuality

GNSX 140 / COMM 115G. Gender, Health, and Sexuality (Prerequisites: COMM 1, COMM 10, PSYC 1, PSYC 2, or SOCI 1)

GNSX 140A / HIST 124. History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

History Courses

HIST 11H. Medicine, Health, and the Body (Prerequisites: Honors Program)

HIST 12H. Medicine, Health, and the Body (Prerequisites: Honors Program)

HIST 123. Plagues, Epidemics, and Infections

HIST 124 / GNSX 140A.  History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

HIST 129. Reproductive Justice in Global Perspective

HIST 133 / GNSX 137. History of Sexuality

Modern Languages and Literatures Courses

SPAN 21S.  Intermediate Spanish for Health Professions

SPAN 101S. Medical Narratives

Philosophy Courses

PHIL 27A. Ethics in Health Care

PHIL 27B. Ethics & Public Health

PHIL 30H: Ethics and the Law - Honors (Prerequisites: Honors Program)

PHIL 32. Neuroethics

PHIL 41. Diversity and Disability

PHIL 113. Bioethics

PHIL 117. Bioethics and the Law

PHIL 160. Philosophy of Mental Illness

Public Health Courses

PHSC 135 / ANTH 135. Human Development and Sexuality

Religious Studies Courses

RSOC 66 / ARTH 66. Fabricating Nature in East Asia

RSOC 114. Religion and Medicine in Health Care

TESP 141. Bioethics - Dignity and Justice

TESP 162. Spirituality, Trauma, and Gender

University Honors Program Courses

HNRS 20. Difficult Dialogues: Infectious Diseases and Human Society (Prerequisites: Honors Program)