The Health Humanities minor explores the complexities of health, illness, pain, addiction, disability, end-of-life care, and healthcare institutions from multiple perspectives within the humanities. It invites students to examine how health and medicine are represented and experienced across diverse cultures and communities, equipping them with critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. Students preparing for careers in medicine, public health, and allied health professions will find it of interest.
 

 

What You'll Gain

Communicate with Impact: Sharpen oral and written expression, learning to write and speak clearly for audiences within and beyond the health professions.

Think Like an Analyst: A versatile toolkit of interpretive methods to understand health and illness.

Social Insight: Explore the lived experiences, cultures, and voices of people across the spectrum of well-being, and examine how health intersects with race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other dimensions of identity.

What You'll Study

Courses that draw on methods and research on health from across the humanities, including:

  • History

  • Comparative Literature

  • Religious Studies

  • Gender Studies

  • Philosophy

  • Cultural Studies

 

Health Humanities Minor Requirements

Review the minor requirements and download the official Health Humanities Minor Sheet.


Health Humanities Minor Sheet

One course from the following (4-5 units):

  • Chinese 41/Religious Studies 41: Introduction to Chinese Medicine
  • Chinese 48/Religious Studies 48: Nature and Ethics in Chinese Philosophy (satisfies GE Area E, World Cultures, Writing)
  • Classics 60: Science and Medicine in Ancient Greece (satisfies European Traditions)
  • Comparative Literature 60: Introduction to Disability Studies (satisfies GE Area D, Writing)
  • East Asian Cultural Studies 5/Religious Studies 4: Introduction to Buddhism (satisfies GE Area E, World Cultures, Writing)
  • History 20 (by petition & taught by Prof. Aronova): Science and the Modern World (satisfies GE Area E, Writing)
  • Philosophy 7: Biomedical Ethics (satisfies Writing)
  • Religious Studies 63: Witches & Brujxs: Black Magic & (Afro-)Latinx Feminism

 

20 UD units from at least two different departments, chosen from the electives below:

  • Art History 109C
  • Asian American Studies 162
  • Chicana & Chicano Studies 154, 163
  • Chinese 152, 167
  • Comparative Literature 186FL, 190A, 190B
  • Dance 165
  • East Asian Cultural Studies 154
  • English 128NA, 134NA, 170TL, 170TS, 171NH
  • French 154J, 154K
  • History 101G, 101QA, 106R, 125, 151H (or LAIS 151H), 184R (by petition only taught by Prof. Ya Zuo as History of Chinese Medicine), 188S (or JAPAN 162), 193F
  • Italian 139YX
  • Linguistics 129
  • Philosophy 100F, 124G
  • Religious Studies 107, 110L, 156BE, 156CC, 156CI, 158C, 193B

Note: Up to one course from the following list may be applied to the minor: LAIS 145 (or SPAN 145); WRIT 105SW, 105WE, 109HP, 109ST; W L CS 160SS

 

 

Start your journey to understanding connections between culture and medicine.

 

Contact us for advising questions or to declare the Health Humanities Minor.

healthhumanities@ucsb.edu