Medical Humanities (MEDH)
Casey Kayser, program director
ckayser@uark.edu
479-575-2512
Kimpel Hall 707
The medical humanities minor is designed to give students an overview of the ways in which various disciplines in the humanities inform, intersect with, and apply to understandings of the medical arts and sciences. The medical humanities minor is beneficial for students preparing for careers in health care, social services, and health-related fields, especially those who wish to understand how cultural, social, ethical, religious, literary, artistic, and other such perspectives can enrich conceptualizations and approaches to patient care.
Approaching medicine from a humanistic perspective will help future health care and social service practitioners view patients and individuals with greater empathy and awareness, as well as provide them with the tools to critically analyze their own experiences. The minor is also appropriate for students from disciplines within the humanities and social sciences interested in researching and practicing in such areas related to the historical, social, and cultural dynamics that have informed medical institutions and treatment; patient advocacy; medical law and ethics; narrative medicine; and art, music, or narrative therapies.
Requirements for a Minor in Medical Humanities
| A minimum of 18 hours consisting of the following: | ||
| Choose one introductory course: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ACTS Equivalency = ANTH 2013) | ||
| Communication in a Diverse World | ||
| Institutions and Ideas of World Civilizations II (ACTS Equivalency = HIST 1123) | ||
| Introduction to Ethics (ACTS Equivalency = PHIL 1003) | ||
| General Psychology (ACTS Equivalency = PSYC 1103) | ||
| General Sociology (ACTS Equivalency = SOCI 1013) | ||
| Social Problems (ACTS Equivalency = SOCI 2013) | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Introduction to Human Sexuality | ||
| Nine credit hours from the following core courses or committee-approved special topics courses (taken from two different departments) | 9 | |
| Medical Anthropology | ||
| Culture and Medicine | ||
| Health Coaches I | ||
| Health Coaches II | ||
| Health Coaches III | ||
| Survey of Exceptionalities | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Honors Colloquium (Topic: Patient-Provider Communication) | ||
| Topics in Literature, Medicine, and Science | ||
or ENGL 344H3 | Honors Topics in Literature, Medicine, and Science | |
| Seminar in Medical Humanities | ||
or ENGL 387H3 | Honors Seminar in Medical Humanities | |
| Gender, Bodies, and Technologies | ||
| History of Race and Medicine | ||
or AAST 12303 | History of Race and Medicine | |
| Honors Colloquium (Topic: History of Addiction) | ||
| Health and Disease: 1500 to the Present | ||
| Terminology for the Health Professions | ||
| Multicultural Health | ||
| Bioethics | ||
| On Death and Dying | ||
| Special Topics (Topic: Sociology of Medicine) | ||
| Special Topics in Sociology (Topic: Mental Health & Illness) | ||
| Advanced Spanish for Health Professions | ||
Study Abroad: Health-focused trips to Africa, Belize, Ireland, United Kingdom, Puebla, or Sweden. Only three credit hours from study abroad may count toward the minor. | ||
| Six credit hours from the elective courses list below. Core courses listed above may also count toward this requirement if not already being used. | 6 | |
| Body and Identity | ||
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Health Communication Campaigns | ||
| Life Span Development | ||
| Family Relations | ||
| Child Development | ||
| The Hospitalized Child: Child Life Programming | ||
| Adolescent Development | ||
| Families in Crisis | ||
| Parenting and Family Dynamics | ||
| Adult Development | ||
| LGBTQ+ Histories | ||
| Ethics and the Professions | ||
| Special Topics in Philosophy (Topic: Philosophy of Race and Gender) | ||
| Philosophy of Science | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Psychopathology | ||
| Developmental Psychology (ACTS Equivalency = PSYC 2103) | ||
| Cognitive Psychology | ||
| Addiction and the Family | ||
| Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Deviant Behavior | ||
| Special Topics in Sociology (Topic: Human Trafficking) | ||
| Race and Society | ||
| Total Hours | 18 | |
At least nine credit hours must be in courses numbered 3000 or higher. A maximum of 6 credit hours will be allowed from any one department.
Students may petition the Medical Humanities Steering Committee to have other courses accepted as requirements for the minor. Additionally, the committee intends to update these elective options if and when relevant new courses become available.