Dissecting the Past (Non-Clinical Elective)

4 units

During this four-week elective, students will draw on primary texts and an immersive travel experience to explore the history of evolving scientific thought and cultural influences on our current understanding of medical ethics and practice. This course consists of weekly sessions using primary source materials from the WUSM Archives and Rare Books collections as a springboard for discussion. Each week focuses on a different aspect of medical history, beginning with an overview of the underlying medical theories of the early modern period, and then moving into detailed investigations of key figures and themes that will be explored in a week-long trip abroad. The culminating travel experience allows students to immerse themselves in the course themes by visiting historical medical collections in Europe.