Summer Study Abroad Program in Paris

HLTH 385 Health Humanities in Paris

Instructor: Vincent Bruyere, PhD

This class proposes an exploration of the emerging field of Health Humanities through the lens of French history and culture. Our approach will be grounded in a wide range of storytelling practices touching on issues of care, crisis, and contagion. But also of values. While in the 1940s the WHO defined health primarily as a state—“a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”—in 1580, Michel de Montaigne understood it as a value: “How precious health is! It is the only thing to the pursuit of which it is truly worth devoting not only our time but our sweat, our labor, our assets and even life itself.” And so is our gamble: what if the object of Health Humanities was the study of health as a value rather than as a state?

HLTH 360 Sante et bien-etre – Health & Well-Being

Instructor: Michelle Lampl, MD, PhD

The course aims to provide the student with the opportunity to experience a different cultural viewpoint on matters of health. Contrary to the biomedical view that there is a single corpus of knowledge on health and well-being, the class will consider the strong influence that cultural beliefs, values and traditions exert through differences in behavior and treatment, and the larger ramifications in terms of policy. The traditional classroom setting will provide an environment to discuss class readings and the specific assignments are designed to make students active participants in learning from experiences unique to Paris. By the end of the course, students should be able to (1) identify a number of specific aspects of daily life that distinguish health-based attributes; (2) identify historical differences in the integration of mental and physical health and clarify the future importance of a holistic approach to human health; and (3) appreciate the importance of the role of medicalization and cultural constructions in health.