Medical and Health Humanities

FAIN: AA-290024-23

Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX 77341-0001)
Scottie H. Buehler (Project Director: May 2022 to present)

A three-year project for the establishment of a new minor in medical and health humanities at Sam Houston State University.

Our proposal seeks to establish a program in the medical and health humanities at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). The program, an administrative unit in the History Department, will launch a minor, establish five new courses, create four short lessons for STEM classes, and expand a speaker series. The need for interdisciplinary perspectives on health and medicine has never been greater. The liberal arts bridge the gap between biomedicine and the cultural aspects of health, uncovering the ways that social structures shape experiences of illness and disability and even determine healthcare outcomes. Offering a unique opportunity to improve humanities teaching and learning at SHSU, the program will expand the audience for the humanities, provide distinctive insight into the formation of societies and power structures, highlight the applicability of the humanities to solving real world problems, and afford students the opportunity to refine their humanistic skills.