University Catalog

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 3300MEDICAL HUMANITIES3
PHIL 3319BIOMEDICAL ETHICS3

Required Disability Studies course (1 course)

DS 2301TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/HIST 3307U.S. DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS/HIST 3308HISTORY OF MADNESS3
DS 3312DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK3
DS 3321TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/PHIL 3322DISABILITY ETHICS3
DS 3327/HIST 4327CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS3
DS 3331RESEARCH IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/COMM 3346DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA3
DS/THEA 3355UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS3
DS/ART 3399DISABILITY AND ART3
DS/HIST 4326TOPICS IN DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS 4329DISABILITY & WORK3
KINE 3304ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORT3

Elective courses (3 courses)

ANTH 2307BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY3
ANTH 2322GLOBAL CULTURES3
ANTH 3307EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE3
ANTH 3316LATINO HEALTH ISSUES3
ANTH 3369MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY3
ANTH 4406HUMAN OSTEOLOGY4
ANTH 4459BIOARCHAEOLOGY4
ART 4304ART AND THE HUMAN CONDITION3
BIOL 4357HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY3
CRCJ 3370INTRODUCTION TO FORENSICS3
COMM 3350HEALTH COMMUNICATION3
CRCJ 4340FORENSIC DEATH INVESTIGATION3
DS 2301TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/HIST 3307U.S. DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS/HIST 3308HISTORY OF MADNESS3
DS 3312DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK3
DS 3321TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/PHIL 3322DISABILITY ETHICS3
DS/HIST 3327CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS3
DS 3331RESEARCH IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/COMM 3346DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA3
DS/THEA 3355UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS3
DS 3399DISABILITY AND ART3
DS/HIST 4326TOPICS IN DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS 4329DISABILITY & WORK3
ENGL 3364TOPICS IN LGBTQIA+ LITERATURE AND THEORY3
FREN/MODL 4310GRAPHIC NOVELS AND THE MEDICAL WORLD3
GEOG 4330UNDERSTANDING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS3
GWSS 2315INTRODUCTION TO LGBTQ+ STUDIES3
HIST 4307HISTORY OF MEDICINE3
HIST 4309SOCIAL DARWINISM AND EUGENICS3
HUMA 3340TOPICS IN HUMANITIES3
HUMA 3350CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE3
HUMA 3360AMERICAN HEALTHCARE THROUGH FILM3
HUMA 4391CONFERENCE COURSE IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES3
HUMA 4395INTERNSHIP IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES3
KINE 3304ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORT3
NURS 3347SPECIALIZED TOPICS IN NURSING (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator)3
PHIL 3340TOPICS IN APPLIED ETHICS (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator.)3
PHIL 3341TOPICS IN BIOETHICS3
PHIL 4392CONFERENCE COURSE IN BIOETHICS3
POLS 3309HEALTH POLITICS, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY3
POLS 4350HEALTH POLITICS AND POLICY3
PSYC 3303DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR3
SCIE 4301ISSUES IN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE3
SCIE 4303CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE3
SCIE 4304DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN DISEASE3
SOCW 3315INTRODUCTION TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS3
SPAN 3308SPANISH FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES3
SPAN 4342TRANSLATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS3
SPAN 4343INTERPRETING IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS3
SOCI 3332SOCIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION3
SOCI 4320MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY3
SOCW 4314INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE3
GWSS 3305WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES3
THEA 3351ROBOTS, DIGITAL HUMANITIES, AND THEATRE3

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 two courses must be from the College of Liberal Arts.

Elective courses (3 courses)

ANTH 2307BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY3
ANTH 2322GLOBAL CULTURES3
ANTH 3307EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE3
ANTH 3316LATINO HEALTH ISSUES3
ANTH 3369MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY3
ANTH 4406HUMAN OSTEOLOGY4
ANTH 4459BIOARCHAEOLOGY4
ART 4304ART AND THE HUMAN CONDITION3
BIOL 4357HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY3
CRCJ 3370INTRODUCTION TO FORENSICS3
COMM 3350HEALTH COMMUNICATION3
CRCJ 4340FORENSIC DEATH INVESTIGATION3
DS 2301TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/HIST 3307U.S. DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS/HIST 3308HISTORY OF MADNESS3
DS 3312DISABILITY & SOCIAL WORK3
DS 3321TOPICS IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/PHIL 3322DISABILITY ETHICS3
DS/HIST 3327CYBORGS AND PROSTHETICS3
DS 3331RESEARCH IN DISABILITY STUDIES3
DS/COMM 3346DISABILITY IN MASS MEDIA3
DS/THEA 3355UNIVERSAL DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS3
DS 3399DISABILITY AND ART3
DS/HIST 4326TOPICS IN DISABILITY HISTORY3
DS 4329DISABILITY & WORK3
ENGL 3364TOPICS IN LGBTQIA+ LITERATURE AND THEORY3
FREN/MODL 4310GRAPHIC NOVELS AND THE MEDICAL WORLD3
GWSS 2315INTRODUCTION TO LGBTQ+ STUDIES3
GEOG 4330UNDERSTANDING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS3
HIST 4307HISTORY OF MEDICINE3
HIST 4309SOCIAL DARWINISM AND EUGENICS3
HUMA 3340TOPICS IN HUMANITIES3
HUMA 3350CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE3
HUMA 3360AMERICAN HEALTHCARE THROUGH FILM3
HUMA 4391CONFERENCE COURSE IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES3
HUMA 4395INTERNSHIP IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES3
KINE 3304ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORT3
NURS 3347SPECIALIZED TOPICS IN NURSING (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator)3
PHIL 3319BIOMEDICAL ETHICS (Section 002 will be taught as a service learning course.)3
PHIL 3340TOPICS IN APPLIED ETHICS (When relevant and with permission of program coordinator.)3
PHIL 3341TOPICS IN BIOETHICS3
PHIL 4392CONFERENCE COURSE IN BIOETHICS3
POLS 3309HEALTH POLITICS, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY3
POLS 4350HEALTH POLITICS AND POLICY3
PSYC 3303DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR3
SCIE 4301ISSUES IN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE3
SCIE 4303CLINICAL MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE3
SCIE 4304DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN DISEASE3
SOCW 3315INTRODUCTION TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS3
SPAN 3308SPANISH FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES3
SPAN 4342TRANSLATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS3
SPAN 4343INTERPRETING IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS3
SOCI 3332SOCIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION3
SOCI 4320MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY3
SOCW 4314INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE3
GWSS 3305WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES3

Other courses as approved by the program coordinator.