HLTHHUMT01 Health humanities

The Health humanities major problematises the relationship between health, knowledge and power through critical, interdisciplinary humanities and social scientific methodologies. You will be challenged to interrogate claims of objectivity and progress associated with contemporary biomedicine, and to consider how the social world shapes our encounters with clinical care and public health initiatives. 

This major is structured to progressively develop a range of skills and knowledge. Critical analysis, clear writing, close reading and robust research sit at the heart of the major. In the major’s core units, particular attention is paid to a dynamic, interdisciplinary approach that puts different qualitative and quantitative fields into dialogue to reveal a complex picture of health as lived experience. Based in anthropology, history, sociology, bioethics, literary studies, communications, and other disciplines, the elective units engage with a range of themes, especially gender, sexuality and reproductive health; narrative, performance and representation; and ecologies and economies of health.

This major will prepare you to consider the experiences of health and illness of past and present, urban and rural, local and migrant, in peace and conflict. This training will prepare you to be in a position to work with local, state, regional and global authorities and other stakeholders to improve understandings of health and disease and expand the toolkits for tackling concerns at the heart of the human condition. This major is particularly suited for students interested in a career in the health, NGO and governmental sectors, the major provides a unique qualification and set of skills for the Australian and international job market.

This major does not lead to a career as clinical practitioner or public health professional. Rather, it offers a critical perspective on health through the analytical and methodological tools of the humanities and social sciences.

Availability
Health humanities is listed in A2000 Bachelor of Arts at Clayton as a minor and major.