Health Humanities is an interdisciplinary field of medicine that uses the humanities and arts to explore the human mind and body, as well as the broader human condition. Its goal is to enhance the education, skills, and practice of health care specialists as well as to stimulate new approaches to research on public health, health equity and the broader socio-political contexts of health, disease and care, including the cultural, racial, and gendered politics of health. Health Humanities are now part of the curricula of leading medical schools; the MCAT exam also includes sections on humanities knowledge.
As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.
- Toni Morrison
Talking Covid: Translating Science and Clinical Experience for Community Understanding, Dr. Daniel Griffen in Conversation with Professor Stephanie Malia Hom, 09/27/2021. Co-sponsored by the Walter H. Capps Center and the Health Humanities Initiative, UCSB.
In these extraordinary times of global health crises, the importance of preparing students to recognize and propose solutions to society's greatest dilemmas has never been more clear. HFA soon will offer a minor in the health humanities for undergraduate students planning to pursue health- and medicine-related fields. Expected by 2024, the minor will focus on the humanistic aspects of healthcare and medical research, with courses offered in the Departments of History, Religious Studies, English, French and Italian, Chicana/o Studies, and more.
Learn more about Medical Humanities
Visit the UC Health Humanities Press website: https://uchealthhumanitiespress.com/
Read the article from the Association of American Medical Colleges: More Pre-Med Students Opting for Health Humanities Programs
Previous Events
Lecture: Meditation, Sickness, and the Ethics of Buddhist Studies (P. Salguero) - 10/14/21
The Current Health Crisis and Sustaining Community: A conversation with Dr. Daniel Griffin (Columbia University Irving Medical Center), presented by the Capps Center and co-sponsored by the Health Humanities Initiative (5/21/2020):
Moderated by Professor Greg Johnson (Director, Capps Center) and Jason Prystowsky, M.D. (Emergency Room Physician, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital; UCSB Health Humanities Initiative), this conversation and audience Q&A session was a unique opportunity to engage with someone who has been at the forefront of the pandemic crisis in three notable capacities: scientist, medical practitioner, and media consultant (CNN). Please follow this link to view the recording of the webinar.
Meet the faculty steering committee
Brad Bouley, Assistant Professor of History
Kathleen Foltz, Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
San Juanita Garcia, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies
Mary Hancock, Acting Dean, Humanities and Fine Arts; Professor of History and Anthropology
Stephanie Malia Hom, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies
Hangping Xu, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies
Kathleen Moore, Associate Dean, Humanities and Fine Arts; Professor of History
Ben Olguín, Professor of English
Celia Herrera Rodriguez, Lecturer and Academic Coordinator, Department of English
Melissa Smith, Faculty Research Affiliate, Center for Information Technology and Society