The Medical Arts ((3 Credits))

Catalog description

This course will serve as an introduction to the field of medical humanities, investigating the history, culture, and politics of Western medicine. We will examine the role of medicine in Western art and literature, such as the heroic dissection paintings of Rembrandt and popular TV shows like “The Knick.” We will look at how humanities based approaches can enrich our understanding of how medicine has interacted with and influenced other social forces—for instance, class politics in the Rembrandt paintings, or immigration politics in the US, based on ideas of medical and social hygiene—as well medicine’s continuing influence on national and global politics, society, and culture. Above all, this course will develop an understanding of the broader social influences on medicine, and in turn analyze its power to shape society.