Research Projects in the Medical Humanities
Course Description
The following is designed as a four-week elective for senior medical students and can be scheduled with the instructor over several months, depending on the student's project. Students must contact the instructor to discuss the proposed project by October 30, and the project must be completed by May 1. The course focuses on reading and writing in the humanities disciplines such as history of medicine; literature and medicine; or the visual arts in health education and public policy. A final project is required such as a research paper of publishable quality; the development of a model medical humanities course; a portfolio of creative and/or reflective writing; or a portfolio of the development and execution of a community service project in the medical humanities.
Course Objectives
-
To address the art of medicine from the multiple domains of the humanities and clinical sciences.
-
To design a feasible research or creative project, determine a schedule from inception to completion, develop a working bibliography, and produce a final written project.
-
To read and be able to discuss a selection of the most significant and most current literature related to the critical and/or creative project
Assessment of Student
To obtain elective credit, the student must successfully complete the following:
- one-page written preliminary description of the project
- a schedule for discussion of selected readings, progress of research and writing, and expected date of completion.
- a short bibliography of related literature.
- the names of any organizations including contacts (names, titles, phone numbers) if community-related project.
- a formally written final project to be evaluated by the course director and a second reader in the appropriate humanities discipline or in medical humanities education.
For dates and times of this course, call the Dean's Office at 581-3657.
