Interdisciplinary Studies, Health & Medical Humanities Concentration, B.A.

Health & Medical Humanities is an interdisciplinary field that uses humanistic perspectives to understand health and healthcare. The humanities have the potential to teach us about the embodied human experience, including suffering, healing, well-being, and flourishing. The B.A. degree in Health & Medical Humanities complements the movement toward primary and patient-centered care in healthcare and provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the effects of health, wellness, and illness on patients, health professionals, and on the social worlds in which they live and work. 

The program explores the experience of illness, mortality, fragility, health, and healthcare settings through literature, the arts, and the social sciences. The degree supports the University’s health and medical-related programs by offering a cross-disciplinary approach that promises to enhance observation, empathy, communication, cultural understanding, human compassion and sensitivity, and creativity, among future healthcare providers. 

The Health & Medical Humanities Concentration immerses students in the human side of medicine and health and leads to greater enhanced interpersonal relationships between patients and practitioners.  The degree supports the concept of “person-centered medicine,” and thus leads to an enhanced appreciation of the personhood and inherent humanness of patients and clients. The degree also intends to enhance personal reflection, critical thinking skills, and the understanding of health, illness, and medical care’s personal, social, historical, and cultural contexts. 

The degree is supported by faculty and courses across the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, including from departments of and majors in Africana Studies, Anthropology, Chemistry, Communication Studies, Criminal Justice, History, Language and Cultural Studies, and Philosophy.