Health Humanities

Health humanities seeks novel ways of understanding health and illness in society, and how methods from the humanities and social studies may be brought to bear on biomedicine, clinical practice, and the politics of healthcare. Experiences and portrayals of health and illness in literature, film and contemporary culture are also studied.

The programme enables students to approach issues relating to health and illness from both a historical and contemporary perspective and from a variety of a disciplines, including anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, science and technology studies, global health, literature and film studies. Students will also learn to work in an interdisciplinary manner.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), elective modules of 15 or 30 credits each (up to a total of 60 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits), two core modules (60 credits) and two electives (60 credits) is also offered.

A Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits), two core modules is also offered.

Core modules

• Illness
• Madness

Optional modules

Students may choose from the list of recommended modules below, or other relevant modules in UCL, with the approval of the convenors.

• Anthropology and Psychiatry
• Classical Chinese Medicine
• Clinically Applied Cultural Psychiatry
• Conflict, Humanitarianism and Health
• Cultural Memory
• Death, Dying and Consequences
• Disease in History
• German Literature and Psychology
• Global Health and Development: Emerging Policy Debates
• Global Justice and Health
• Health Inequalities Over the Lifecourse
• Health Policy and Reform
• Medical Anthropology
• Medieval Science and Medicine in Global Perspective
• Science, Technology, and Identity
• Social Value and Public Policy, Health and the Environment
• From Imperial Medicine to Global Health, 1860s to present
• Medicine on Screen

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. Assessment is through essays and a dissertation. There is no unseen examination.

Normally a minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.