| Unit name | Introduction to the Medical Humanities |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HUMS20004 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Vaccarella |
| Open unit status | Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Humanities |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit aims to introduce students from different disciplinary backgrounds to the medical humanities. We will analyse cultural representations of health-related matters, as well as cultural aspects of healthcare provision, with the help of a variety of primary and secondary sources (e.g. novels, poems, graphic memoirs, paintings, films, and documentaries). We will survey how the humanities can contribute to a better understanding of critical issues in medical practice. At the same time, students will be encouraged to connect these debates to the critical questions they address in their degrees.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:
(1) detailed knowledge of key concepts and current debates in the medical humanities;
(2) critical awareness of cultural factors in health matters;
(3) knowledge of humanistic approaches across disciplines;
(4) the ability to compare different sources;
(5) skills in critical thinking, research, and written presentation appropriate to level I.
1 x 2 hour seminar per week
1) One formative presentation
2) A summative learning journal of 2000 words on a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) group activity (40%)
3) One summative essay of 3000 words (60%).
All assignments will assess ILOs 1-5.
McEwan, Ian. Saturday (2005) [any edition].
Sophocles. Philoctetes [any edition].
Foucault, Michel. The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. London: Routledge (2003).
Frank, W. Arthur. The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics. London: University of Chicago Press (1997).
Hawkins, Anne Hunsaker. Reconstructing Illness: Studies in Pathography. West Lafayette, Ind: Purdue University Press (1993).
Rousseau, G. S., Miranda Gill, David and Malte Herwig, eds. Framing and Imagining Disease in Cultural History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2003).
