Medical Humanities and Bioethics
Overview
Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary program that explores the historical, literary, philosophical, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of medicine and health. It Includes instruction in the visual arts, social sciences, narrative medicine, cultural studies, and clinical practice. There is a common focus on creative and compassionate approaches to professional relationships and patient care.
Bioethics focuses on the ethical dimensions of medical practice and research. It includes instruction in applying philosophical ethics, policy analysis, and decision theory to real world issues in healthcare. Topics include end of life care, disability, resource allocation, organ transplantation, research on human and animal subjects, reproduction and fertility, health care justice, and other topics relevant to clinical practice.
Combining approaches from the medical humanities and bioethics, students are encouraged to take a humanistic perspective on the practice of medicine, using methods from philosophy, the social sciences, and the arts. This program provides students with an opportunity to earn a Certificate in Medical Humanities (12 hours) or a Minor in Medical Humanities and Bioethics (18 hours) and is relevant to a wide range of fields including healthcare, disability studies, public health, social work, and biomedical engineering.
Minor
The Minor in Medical Humanities and Bioethics requires 18 hours. There are three required courses: HUMA 3300, PHIL 3319, and the student's choice from the listed Disability Studies courses. This minor offers independent study and internship opportunities.
Required core courses (two courses)
| HUMA 3300 | MEDICAL HUMANITIES | 3 |
| PHIL 3319 | BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | 3 |
Required Disability Studies course (1 course)
| DS 2301 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS/HIST 3307 | HISTORY OF DISABILITY | 3 |
| DS 3312 | DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK | 3 |
| DS 3321 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS 3327/HIST 4327 | CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS | 3 |
| DS 3331 | RESEARCH IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS/COMM 3346 | DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA | 3 |
| DS/THEA 3355 | UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS | 3 |
| DS/ART 3399 | DISABILITY & ART | 3 |
| DS 4329 | DISABILITY & WORK | 3 |
Elective courses (3 courses)
| ANTH 2307 | BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | 3 |
| ANTH 3307 | EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE | 3 |
| ANTH 3316 | LATINO HEALTH ISSUES | 3 |
| ANTH 3369 | MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | 3 |
| ANTH 4406 | HUMAN OSTEOLOGY | 4 |
| ANTH 4459 | BIOARCHAEOLOGY | 4 |
| ART 4304 | ART AND THE HUMAN CONDITION | 3 |
| BIOL 4357 | HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| COMM 4350 | HEALTH COMMUNICATION | 3 |
| CRCJ 3370 | INTRODUCTION TO FORENSICS | 3 |
| CRCJ 4340 | FORENSIC DEATH INVESTIGATION | 3 |
| DS 2301 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS/HIST 3307 | HISTORY OF DISABILITY | 3 |
| DS 3312 | DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK | 3 |
| DS 3321 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS/HIST 3327 | CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS | 3 |
| DS 3331 | RESEARCH IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS/COMM 3346 | DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA | 3 |
| DS/THEA 3355 | UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS | 3 |
| DS 3399 | DISABILITY & ART | 3 |
| DS 4329 | DISABILITY & WORK | 3 |
| FREN/MODL 4310 | GRAPHIC NOVELS AND THE MEDICAL WORLD | 3 |
| GEOG 4330 | UNDERSTANDING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3 |
| HIST 4307 | HISTORY OF MEDICINE | 3 |
| HIST 4309 | SOCIAL DARWINISM AND EUGENICS | 3 |
| HUMA 3340 | TOPICS IN HUMANITIES | 3 |
| HUMA 3350 | CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| HUMA 3360 | AMERICAN HEALTHCARE THROUGH FILM | 3 |
| HUMA 4391 | CONFERENCE COURSE IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES | 3 |
| HUMA 4395 | INTERNSHIP IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES | 3 |
| NURS 3347 | SPECIALIZED TOPICS IN NURSING (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator) | 3 |
| PHIL 3340 | TOPICS IN APPLIED ETHICS (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator.) | 3 |
| PHIL 3341 | TOPICS IN BIOETHICS | 3 |
| PHIL 4392 | CONFERENCE COURSE IN BIOETHICS | 3 |
| POLS 3309 | HEALTH POLITICS, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY | 3 |
| POLS 4350 | HEALTH POLITICS AND POLICY | 3 |
| PSYC 3303 | DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR | 3 |
| SCIE 4301 | ISSUES IN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE | 3 |
| SCIE 4303 | CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| SCIE 4304 | DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN DISEASE | 3 |
| SOCW 3315 | INTRODUCTION TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS | 3 |
| SPAN 3308 | SPANISH FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES | 3 |
| SPAN 4343 | INTERPRETING IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS | 3 |
| SOCI 3332 | SOCIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION | 3 |
| SOCI 4320 | MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
| THEA 3351 | ROBOTS, DIGITAL HUMANITIES, AND THEATRE | 3 |
| WOMS 3305 | WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES | 3 |
Other courses as approved by the program coordinator.
Certificate
To receive the certificate, a student must complete HUMA 3300 and three courses from the following list. Students can count toward the certificate no more than two courses from a single department. At least three courses must be from the College of Liberal Arts.
| College of Liberal Arts | ||
| ANTH 2307 | BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | 3 |
| ANTH 3307 | EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE | 3 |
| ANTH 3316 | LATINO HEALTH ISSUES | 3 |
| ANTH 3369 | MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | 3 |
| ANTH 4406 | HUMAN OSTEOLOGY | 4 |
| ANTH 4459 | BIOARCHAEOLOGY | 4 |
| ART 4304 | ART AND THE HUMAN CONDITION | 3 |
| ART 4396 | SPECIAL STUDIES IN ART HISTORY | 3 |
| COMM 4350 | HEALTH COMMUNICATION | 3 |
| CRCJ 3370 | INTRODUCTION TO FORENSICS | 3 |
| CRCJ 4340 | FORENSIC DEATH INVESTIGATION | 3 |
| DS 2301 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS 3307 | HISTORY OF DISABILITY | 3 |
| DS 3312 | DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK | 3 |
| DS 3321 | TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES | 3 |
| DS 3327 | CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS | 3 |
| or HIST 4327 | CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS | |
| DS 3346 | DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA | 3 |
| or COMM 3346 | DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA | |
| DS 3355 | UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS | 3 |
| DS 4329 | DISABILITY & WORK | 3 |
| FREN 4310 | GRAPHIC NOVELS AND THE MEDICAL WORLD | 3 |
| or MODL 4310 | GRAPHIC NOVELS AND THE MEDICAL WORLD | |
| HUMA 3300 | MEDICAL HUMANITIES (Required Course) | 3 |
| HUMA 3340 | TOPICS IN HUMANITIES | 3 |
| HUMA 3350 | CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| HUMA 3360 | AMERICAN HEALTHCARE THROUGH FILM | 3 |
| PHIL 3319 | BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | 3 |
| PHIL 3341 | TOPICS IN BIOETHICS | 3 |
| POLS 4350 | HEALTH POLITICS AND POLICY | 3 |
| SOCI 3332 | SOCIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION | 3 |
| SOCI 4320 | MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
| SPAN 4342 | TRANSLATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS | 3 |
| SPAN 4343 | INTERPRETING IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS | 3 |
| THEA 3355 | UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS | 3 |
| WOMS 3305 | WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES | 3 |
| College of Science | ||
| BIOL 4357 | HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSYC 3303 | DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR | 3 |
| SCIE 4301 | ISSUES IN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE (College of Science) | 3 |
| SCIE 4303 | CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| SCIE 4304 | DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN DISEASE | 3 |
| School of Social Work | ||
| SOCW 3315 | INTRODUCTION TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS | 3 |
| SOCW 4314 | INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE | 3 |
Other courses as approved by the program coordinator.