| Dozent/in |
Prof. Sara Rubinelli, PhD |
| Veranstaltungsart |
Vorlesung/Seminar |
| Code |
HS251208 |
| Semester |
Herbstsemester 2025 |
| Durchführender Fachbereich |
Gesundheitswissenschaften |
| Studienstufe |
Master |
| Termin/e |
Di, 16.09.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 23.09.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 30.09.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 07.10.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 14.10.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 21.10.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 28.10.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 04.11.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 11.11.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 18.11.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 25.11.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 02.12.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 09.12.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15
Di, 16.12.2025, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, HS 15 |
| Weitere Daten |
This course is especially recommended for students interested in expanding their perspective on healthcare through humanistic disciplines. No background in philosophy or literature is required; just appreciation for ‘culture’, curiosity and openness for a journey through the centuries. |
| Umfang |
2 Semesterwochenstunden |
| Inhalt |
• Introduction to Health Humanities: history, relevance, and impact
• Philosophy of happiness and human flourishing
• Death and dying: cultural, spiritual, and existential perspectives
• Novels and stories: health, suffering, and the human experience
• Representations of beauty, the body, and the grotesque in art and medicine
• History of mental health and shifting paradigms of care
• Principles of ethics and applied ethics in health contexts
• The role of the humanities in understanding inequality, stigma, and social justice in healthcare |
| Schlagworte |
Nachhaltigkeit; Gender/Diversity |
| E-Learning |
• Moodle for course materials and reading access
• Moodle Submission portal for written assignments
• Asynchronous discussion forums for group coordination and reflection |
| Lernziele |
How do literature, art, history, ethics, and philosophy deepen our understanding of health, illness, suffering, and care? This course introduces students to the rich field of Health Humanities: a multidisciplinary lens that enhances scientific knowledge with critical reflection on the human condition.
Drawing from novels, philosophy, visual art, historical sources, and ethical theory, students will explore themes such as happiness and human flourishing, death and dying, the beauty and the ugly in health narratives, and the evolving understanding of mental health. These perspectives are not peripheral. They are essential to shaping compassionate, critical, and culturally competent professionals in health sciences.
This course empowers students to engage with diverse expressions of human experience, to question assumptions, and to cultivate the imagination and moral sensitivity required for excellent healthcare and health-related practice.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Understand how humanities disciplines contribute to a broader view of health, illness, and care.
• Critically reflect on philosophical and ethical dimensions of human flourishing, suffering, and mortality.
• Analyze portrayals of disease, disability, and healing in literature and the arts.
• Appreciate the cultural and historical shaping of concepts like mental health, beauty, and the body.
• Discuss and apply key principles of ethics and applied ethics in health-related contexts.
• Strengthen critical thinking, empathy, and interpretive skills essential for health professionals. |
| Voraussetzungen |
• Active participation in class and group work is an asset
• Completion of reading assignments and exercises |
| Sprache |
Englisch |
| Anmeldung |
https://elearning.hsm-unilu.ch/course/view.php?id=928 |
| Prüfung |
Written exam
IMPORTANT: In order to earn credits and participate at the exam registration via Uni Portal within the exam registration period is MANDATORY. Further information: www.unilu.ch/en/study/courses-exams-regulations/health-sciences-and-medicine/exams/ |
| Abschlussform / Credits |
Written exam / 3 Credits
|
| Hinweise |
Teaching methods:
• Interactive lectures
• Reading and discussion of selected texts (philosophy, fiction, historical accounts, ethical case studies)
• Visual and narrative analysis (art, film, literature)
• Small-group discussions and critical reflections
• Student presentations and creative exercises |
| Hörer-/innen |
Nein |
| Kontakt |
sara.rubinelli@unilu.ch |
| Material |
• Slide sets, reading guides, and discussion prompts provided by the lecturer
• Selected artworks, film clips, and excerpts from novels
• Case studies and ethical dilemmas for group work |
| Literatur |
A selection of key texts will be provided on Moodle. These include:
• Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. Princeton University Press.
• Frank, A. W. (1995). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness, and ethics. University of Chicago Press.
• Aristotle. (2009). Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans.; Rev. ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work written ca. 350 BCE)
• Eco, U. (2004). On ugliness (A. McEwen, Trans.). Harvill Secker.
• Selected excerpts from novels such as:
o Tolstoy, L. (1886/2008). The death of Ivan Ilyich. Oxford University Press.
o Sontag, S. (1978). Illness as metaphor. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
o Camus, A. (1947/1991). The plague (S. Gilbert, Trans.). Vintage International.
• Additional scholarly articles and essays on ethics, art and medicine, death and dying, and the philosophy of care (provided via Moodle). |