This course surveys the history of modern medicine and examines the role of medicine and health in the contemporary society. It introduces the students to a variety of ways of looking at the subject, including the social history of medicine, medical humanities, and science & technology studies (STS). The course will emphasize the close connections between forms of social order and forms of medical knowledge. Data culture level = 0.0.2 (Basic.Data analysis). A separate block of classes will be devoted to the potential of neural networks and generative AI as 1) a key component of modern biomedical innovation and 2) a tool for organizing and conducting research in the field of health humanities.
Learning Objectives
Students will understand the fundamental questions and methods of the history of medicine.
Students will develop critical skills of assessing medicine’s complex role in contemporary society.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Discuss academic literature during a seminar and participate in a group discussion in English
Create and deliver a persuasive presentation based on required readings and additional literature
Analyze and compare the views of different authors on the same subject
Course Contents
Problems and Methods
Modern Health and Medicine
Перечень инструментов ИИ: Elicit, Consensus, assistant by scite. Планируемое применение: формулировка исследовательского вопроса, поиск и обработка научной литературы, организация и редактирование текста.
Assessment Elements
A group presentation at the final colloquium
Usually, the presentation would be graded as a group project for which one grade is issued to all the participants. Time limit for the presentation is set at 15 minutes. Failure to observe the agreed-upon time limit will result in a 1 point penalty.
Participation in seminars
Students consult pre-assigned materials (scientific articles, primary sources) at home, and in the seminar they answer questions about the materials and discuss what they have learned.
Take-home written examination
A student chooses one question out of three and produces a written answer (1000-2000 words). Failure to produce an essay that is at least 1000 words long will result in an additional 1 point penalty. Failure to submit the essay by the agreed-upon deadline will result in an additional 1 point penalty for every day the essay is late.
Interim Assessment
2026/2027 2nd module
0.25 * Take-home written examination + 0.25 * Participation in seminars + 0.5 * A group presentation at the final colloquium
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
A global history of medicine, , 2018
Porter, R. (2001). Bodies Politic : Disease, Death and Doctors in Britain, 1650-1900. London: Reaktion Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=440604
Recommended Additional Bibliography
An introduction to the social history of medicine: Europe since 1500, Waddington, K., 2011
Barkan, S. E. (2017). Health, Illness, and Society : An Introduction to Medical Sociology. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Instructors
Vasilyev, Pavel
Кузнецова Алиса Артемовна
Platonova, Evgeniia
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Learning Objectives
Expected Learning Outcomes
Course Contents
Assessment Elements
Interim Assessment
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
Recommended Additional Bibliography
Authors