Interdisciplinary Elective Subject, topic 5: Culture and the Mind in the 20th century: Introduction to Medical Humanities

This course offers a transdisciplinary introduction to the growing field of medical humanities, and familiarizes students with the most important scholarly developments at the intersection of history, literature/language, anthropology and clinical disciplines. It is particularly focused on the concept of the human mind and mental illness and wellbeing, exploring how the human psyche has been imagined and debated in different cultural and disciplinary contexts throughout the 20^th century. The course analyses the relationship between psychiatry, medicine and culture, and discusses the role of humanities (and social sciences) in debates around psychological illness, pathology and deviance (including the concepts of trauma and resilience). It also aims to explore how medical and psychiatric ideas are constructed and shaped by socio-cultural and political factors, and how they spread and develop their influence beyond the medical realm. Beyond exploring the history of medical and psychiatric sciences, the course engages with anthropological investigations, as well as literary and artistic engagements with medical/psychiatric disciplines. It aims to introduce students to diverse voices which have shaped the field (including patients), and to critically explore the encounter between doctors and patients in different historical and cultural contexts.