Overview

The Health Humanities Track in the Master of Humanities program is especially designed for graduate students who are interested in this relevant and contemporary multi- and interdisciplinary field. Health Humanities teaches students the ways in which humanities disciplines interrogate relationships among health, medicine and society and what those disciplines reveal about biomedical knowledge as well as healthcare policies and practices. It provides focused studies of medicine, health and healthcare through disciplines such as history, ethics, literature, media studies, cultural studies, critical disability studies, bioethics and philosophy, and the visual arts, paying particular attention to power relationships within health care, such as patient-doctor relationships, and categories of difference, such as gender and race. It provides a deep exploration of the diverse and powerful representations of the human experience of illness, suffering, disability and death.

 Target Audience

This track will invite a range of students interested in careers related to health care professions. It is especially relevant for students with interests in pursuing degrees and/or doctoral work in related fields such as bioethics; health communication; history of medicine; literature / narrative medicine; and critical disability studies. Areas of application for a Health Humanities Track include the three principal domains of the health professions--research, clinical practice, and education--as well as healthcare settings such as clinics, hospitals and outreach/advocacy groups. It also includes non-profit community-based organizations focused on health and healing through the arts; arts and health administration, research and education; and finally, publication.

Suggested Advisors

English: Dr. Gillian Silverman 
History: Dr. Marjorie Levine-Clark
MH/MSS Assistant Director: Dr. Lorna Hutchison
Communication: Dr. Lisa Keranen
WGST Director: Dr. Sarah Hagelin
Center for Bioethics and Humanities, Anschutz Campus: Dr. Therese Jones 
Center for Bioethics and Humanities, Anschutz Campus: Dr. Dan Goldberg

 Track Requirements: 

Master of Humanities Core Requirements:

HUMN 5025: Foundations and Theories in Interdisciplinary Humanities (every fall)
HUMN 5013: Methods and Practices of Interdisciplinary Humanities (every spring)
HUMN 5023: Research Perspectives in Interdisciplinary Humanities

HEHE Track Requirements In addition to the program’s core required courses, the following are required:

  1. HEHE 5000 Foundations of Health Humanities
  2. HEHE 5100 Foundations of Health Care Ethics
  3. A minimum of 12-credit hours of Health Humanities-related graduate course work (this may include the option of a field-related internship), and
  4. Complete a final project or thesis on a Health Humanities topic

 Suggested Elective Courses for the Track

Below is a list of pre-approved courses for the track. Be aware that it is not comprehensive and that departments change their offerings regularly. Always check with the department to see when a given course might be scheduled. Also, check with your MHMSS program advisor to discuss additional course opportunities.

ARCH 5210 Introduction to Architecture
ARCH 5220 History and Theory of Architecture I
ARCH 5230 History and Theory of Architecture II
ARCH 6210 A History of American Architecture 
ARCH 6212 History of Modern Architecture
ARCH 6220 A History of Theoretical Discourse on Architecture
ENGL 5420 Film Theory and Criticism
ENGL 5770 Topics in English: Film and Literature
FINE 5523 Topics in Art History I: Art Before Modernism 
FINE 5524 Topics in Art History II: Modern and Contemporary
FINE 5610 Pre-Columbian Art
FINE 5620 American Art
FINE 5632 History of Digital Media
FINE 5670 Greek and Roman Art
FINE 5680 Art of the Medieval Multiverse
FINE 5700 Italian Renaissance Art
FINE 5705 Northern Renaissance Art 
FINE 5710 Baroque and Rococo Art
FINE 5730 Arts of Japan 
FINE 5750 Arts of China 
FINE 5770 Art of India and Southeast Asia 
FINE 5790 Methods in Art History
FINE 5990 Contemporary Art 1960 to the Present
HIST 5232 Historic Preservation
HIST 5244 Interpretation of History in Museums: Exhibits and Education
HUMN 5220 Art, Beauty, and Aesthetic Criticism: Philosophy of Art
HUMN 5660 Visual Arts: Interpretations and Contexts
HUMN 5720 Sexuality, Gender and Their Visual Representation
HUMN 5770 Selling Empires: The Art of Visual Propaganda
PHIL 5220 Art, Beauty, and Aesthetic Criticism: Philosophy of Art
PHIL 5920 Philosophy of Media and Technology

For more information about this or any track within the Master of Humanities or Social Science programs, contact: Dr. Lorna Hutchison, MH/MSS Assistant Director: lorna.hutchison@ucdenver.edu or
Therese Jones, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, therese.jones@ucdenver.edu
Dan Goldberg, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, daniel.goldberg@cuanschutz.edu
E-mail: masterhs@ucdenver.edu
Website: http://clas.ucdenver.edu/mhmss
Office: Student Commons Building, 3203
Phone: 303-315-3565

For information on the HEHE Graduate Certificate contact: Dr. Therese Jones.