INTRODUCTION TO THE MEDICAL HUMANITIES
Introduction to the medical humanities and their application to clinical practice, utilizing a variety of humanistic approaches, drawing from history, philosophy, anthropology, literary studies, and religious studies. Engage with a variety of forms of expression, including essays, poetry, film, podcasts, music, and visual art. These humanistic approaches complement the science-focused approach of contemporary medical education by enhancing students' ability to offer more compassionate and culturally competent care, and helping students build resiliency through using artistic forms of expression to process their experiences. Engage with the medical humanities through a different theme, such as the doctor-patient relationship, death and dying, or healing and wholeness.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: MED SC-M 810 , 811 , 812 , and 813 Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the different humanistic approaches that fall under the umbrella of the medical humanities, and compare and contrast the strengths of these approaches for understanding health and illness. Audience: Graduate 2. Apply techniques from the medical humanities to analyze literature, film, podcasts, and visual art. Audience: Graduate 3. Locate one’s own experiences of health and illness in broader societal and historical contexts, and recognize how the meaning and experience of health might differ for people occupying different social positions. Audience: Graduate 4. Critically examine harms caused by medicine and scientific research in both a historical and contemporary context. Audience: Graduate 5. Identify the ways in which the experiences of marginalized people may frequently be invalidated by the medical community, and understand how the invalidation of personal experience can constitute both physical and structural violence. Audience: Graduate 6. Translate the experience of bearing witness into specific actions, taken on an individual or societal level, to help alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the different humanistic approaches that fall under the umbrella of the medical humanities, and compare and contrast the strengths of these approaches for understanding health and illness. Audience: Graduate 2. Apply techniques from the medical humanities to analyze literature, film, podcasts, and visual art. Audience: Graduate 3. Locate one’s own experiences of health and illness in broader societal and historical contexts, and recognize how the meaning and experience of health might differ for people occupying different social positions. Audience: Graduate 4. Critically examine harms caused by medicine and scientific research in both a historical and contemporary context. Audience: Graduate 5. Identify the ways in which the experiences of marginalized people may frequently be invalidated by the medical community, and understand how the invalidation of personal experience can constitute both physical and structural violence. Audience: Graduate 6. Translate the experience of bearing witness into specific actions, taken on an individual or societal level, to help alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing. Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027