Medical Humanities Major
The interdisciplinary major in Medical Humanities, offered by the Institute of Comparative Literature and Society, prepares qualified students to explore the biological, social, economic and cultural dimensions of health and medicine in a global and multilingual framework.
At the level of the individual patient, medicine and medical systems diagnose and treat disease to prolong life and to diminish the suffering that accompanies illness. But in many societies, the reach of modern biomedicine far exceeds the intimate zone of patient and caregiver encompassed by this model. From climate change and food activism to city planning and public housing, from family planning and surrogacy to gendered and racial identities, the biomedical model of health now underwrites national and supra-state policies, corporate ventures, targets of social and political activism and modes of individual engagement.
Students enrolled in the Medical Humanities major work at the intersection of these different forces and discourses, examining the many factors, from the biological to the social, economic, political and aesthetic, that influence health and shape our perceptions of physical and psychological wellbeing. Through interdisciplinary work in fields as diverse as neuroscience and comparative literature, they develop their ability to think critically about the reciprocal relationship between health and culture. The major’s unique focus on the cultural and societal dimensions of health and illness promotes an awareness that crosses disciplinary, regional and linguistic divides.
As a major in the Institute of Comparative Literature and Society, Medical Humanities is committed to an understanding of health that is global and embedded in the study of diverse cultures and their languages. Students must be able to read fluently in at least one language other than English, and are required to take courses with readings in a foreign language.
The Medical Humanities major educates students to participate critically and humanistically in the expanding array of health-related fields and prepares them for careers in medicine and public health as well as for graduate training in academic disciplines such as anthropology, history, sociology and literature. All students take Introduction to Comparative Literature and Society, a seminar that introduces important concepts, discourses and methodologies in the humanities and social sciences, as well as the capstone, student-led Senior Seminar. In conjunction with the major adviser, they choose an area of methodological or disciplinary concentration.
The major in Medical Humanitites consists of a minimum of 33 points or 11 courses, distributed as follows. Courses taken to fulfill the application requirements do not count toward the major. Courses fulfilling major requirements must be advanced, discussion-based seminars. Language courses in the Beginner I to Intermediate II stream cannot be counted to fulfill any major requirement. With the exception of courses taken to satisfy the global core requirement, double counting of courses to the MedHum major and another program or university requirement must be pre-approved by the DUS.
Requirements for the Medical Humanities major (33 points/11 courses)
- Introduction to Comparative Literature & Society (CPLS 3900): 3 points
This course introduces important methodologies and areas of disciplinary reflection in contemporary comparative literature. It is taken jointly with comparative literature and society majors taken in the spring semester of a student’s sophomore year. In addition to units on narrative, authorship and the history and practice of comparative and world literature it includes units relating to science, health and medicine, race, gender and sexuality that are directly relevant to MedHum majors.
- 1 course with a CPLS or CL- course identifier: 3-4 points
Students choose from among the wide range of courses sponsored by the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society or cross-listed between ICLS and other departments. These offerings change every semester and are listed on the ICLS website.
- 1 courses with readings in a language other than English: 3-4 points
Students may either take a course that is taught wholly or partially in a foreign language or a course taught in English for which they have received approval to do most of the reading in a foreign language.
- 3 courses that form the disciplinary/methodological nexus of the student’s interests: 9-12 points
Students will develop an individualized course of study at the nexus of health, society and the humanities in discussion with the DUS (Some example of prior constellations include but are not limited to: Literature and Medicine; Narrative Medicine; Medical Anthropology; History of Medicine; Comparative Public Health; Disability studies; Neuroscience; Biopolitics; Bioethics.)
- 2 required core courses in Medical Humanities: 6 points
The core courses in medical humanities are designated as any course taught by faculty on the medical humanities advisory board that emphasizes the content, methods, theories, and approaches of the medical humanities. Please confirm with the Director of Medical Humanities if you have any questions
- 2 classes in the biological or biochemical sciences: 6-8 points
Students in the MedHum major should be versed in contemporary and classical debates and knowledge in the biological sciences. Students may take any two biology or biochemistry classes that relate to fundamental concepts in human biology.
- Senior Seminar at ICLS: 3 points
- Senior Thesis (optional): 3 pts
Students who decide to write a thesis will enroll in a year-long course (CPLS3995) starting in the Fall of their Senior Year. This year-long, 3-credit course (1 credit in Fall, 2 credits in Spring) will allow students to receive academic credits for their thesis, and to count the thesis towards completion of their major requirement when necessary.
The specific course of study must be approved by the DUS.
