Major Requirements

Students are required to take 36 hours of course work (42 hours for the honors track)

Not counting MHS 201, no more than 12 hours may be in the same department.

Not counting MHS 201, no more than 18 hours may be in the courses designated MHS.

►Major Requirements Checklist

1. Required course (3 hours)

MHS 201, Fundamental Issues in Medicine, Health, and Society. A multidisciplinary introduction to the study of medicine, health, and society, drawing on the perspectives of anthropology, economics, history, political science and policy studies, philosophy, religious studies, and sociology. Guest lectures by representatives of the various disciplines.

2. Three of the following core courses (9 hours)

Anthropology 240, Medical Anthropology. Biocultural aspects of human adaptations to health, disease, and nutrition. Non-Western medical and psychiatric systems. Effects of cultures on the interpretation, diagnosis, and treatment of illness. Case studies from Africa, Oceania, Latin America, and the contemporary United States.

–OR–

Anthropology 250, Anthropology and Healing. A cross-cultural inquiry into shamanism and sorcery. Examines altered states of consciousness, hallucinogens, spirit possession, and nontraditional techniques of curing. Contrasts shamanism with Western approaches to curing. Implications for religion, theories of the mind, and dream analysis.
Economics 268, Economics of Health. An examination of some of the economic aspects of the production, distribution, and organization of health care services, such as measuring output, structure of markets, demand for services, supply of services, pricing of services, cost of care, financing mechanisms, and their impact on the relevant markets. Prerequisite: 231
History 280 (was 204), Modern Medicine. Scientific, social and cultural factors influencing the rise of modern medicine. Europe and the U.S., 1750 to the present.

–OR–

History 282 (was 248), Chinese Medicine. The historical divergences between medicine in China and the West. Readings in Chinese medical classics, including the Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor and early herbal manuals. Chinese medicine’s encounter with Western medicine in the twentieth century: the creation of “Traditional Chinese Medicine” in the PRC and the emergence of Chinese medicine as “alternative medicine” in the U.S.
MHS 202, Perspectives in Public Health. Drawing on experts from across the university, the course will provide an interdisciplinary introduction to some major public health issues in domestic and global contexts. The course will focus in particular on developing critical thinking about the role, nature, and function of public health in the era of globalization

MHS 205, Literature and Medicine. Examines the role of narrative in medicine, health, and healing. Readings and discussions will focus on what insights literature and the creative arts can bring to our understanding of medicine, bioethics, and the human condition. Areas to be covered include: doctor-patient relationship; metaphors of illness; stigmatization and suffering; individuals and communities in global contexts; epidemics; and medical experimentation.
Philosophy 108, Introduction to Medical Ethics. Moral issues in the practice of medicine, biomedical research, policies and regulations related to health care.

–OR–

Philosophy 270, Ethics and Medicine. Selected ethical issues raised by clinical practice, medical theories, and biomedical research and technology. No credit for students who have completed 115F, section 13. Prerequisite: 105.
Psychology 268, Health Psychology. The neurophysiological, endocrine, and immune systems; factors underlying health habits and lifestyles; methods to enhance health behaviors and prevent illness; stress management. Reciprocal interactions among behavior, thoughts, and physiology with resulting effects on physical and psychological health and illness.
Sociology 237, Society and Medicine. Cultural and social factors in the perception, definition, diagnosis, treatment, and distribution of disease. Doctor-patient relations; role of nurses and other health professions. Social consequences of hospitals, medical technology, medical specialization, and health insurance.

3. Eight elective courses chosen from the MHS Approved Course List

Note: Students may take both Anthropology 240 and Anthropology 250; History 280 and History 282; Philosophy 108
and Philosophy 270. One course will be counted toward the core; the other(s) will count toward electives.

Note: Up to 6 hours from the following list may be counted for the major.

Bioscience 110a–b, Introduction to Bioscience; Bioscience 220, Biochemistry I;

Chemistry 220a–b, Organic Chemistry; Nursing 210a–b, Anatomy and Physiology;

Nursing 231a, Introduction to Nutrition; 231b, Nutrition and Health.