Spring 2026 Course Highlight
Discover a variety of courses for Spring 2026 that explore different aspects of healthy living - bringing together human experience and the science of health as expressed through literature, dance, and the performing arts. From nutrition and physical well-being to mental health and overall lifestyle balance, these courses highlight the importance of prioritizing health every day, providing you with the knowledge and tools to make informed choices and build a healthier, more balanced life.
Sleep, Science, and Culture | Freeman, Amanda; Reiss, Benjamin (HLTH 385-8/ENG 386-1)
Sleep is a universal human need, yet its practice and meanings vary across cultures. This class integrates scientific understandings of sleep with literary and cultural representations to explore how sleep impacts the totality of our lives, from health to society and the arts.
Experiential Anatomy | Faulkner, Emma (HLTH 369-1/DANC 336-1)
The human body is one of the most spectacular pieces of moving machinery in the universe. This course is designed for dancers, movers, and aspiring movement practitioners to develop a deeper anatomical understanding of the body and to explore anatomical relationships through movement, somatic practices, and neuromuscular exercises.
Nutrition and Performing Arts | Benardot, Dan (HLTH 324-1)
Whether it is a dancer managing the last of a hundred pirouettes in a ballet, or a jazz trumpeter motivating people to tap their feet and snap their fingers in the last set of a long evening, it takes power, concentration, and endurance to bring all the elements of a successful performance together. Performing artists—musicians, singers, actors, and dancers —have unique energy and nutritional demands that have received little scientific attention. This course will cover the basic nutritional science behind strategies that can help performing artists achieve the desired body profile, optimal hydration, endurance, and health in the face of the dynamic interaction between energy/nutrient utilization and provision challenges, and help assure a long, healthy, and successful career… Special attention will be given to artists of different ages and genders, the nutritional stresses associated with travel and performing in hot, humid environments, and optimal eating strategies to help artists prepare for performances at different times of day and night.
Health, Wellbeing, & Humanities | Zhang, Ju (HLTH 230-1)
This class explores the role of the Humanities in broadening our perspectives on the meaning of Health. We examine how narratives and metaphors can shape our bodily experience and why certain illnesses are either stigmatized or romanticized. We also study various philosophical accounts of embodiment, as well as recent critiques of the expanding medicalization of everyday life.
New Courses
Global Health, Economics, & Humanity| Kebede, Senait (HLTH 385-7)
This course focuses on the intersection of global health, economics, and the humanities through a multidisciplinary lens. We will analyze how global health agendas, economic disparities, and power dynamics shape policies and outcomes, using case studies to explore ethical and human-centered solutions.
Health, Harm, and Human Rights | Hall-Clifford, Rachel (HLTH 385-9/SOC 389-9)
The impacts of violence on human health and wellbeing include political, structural, symbolic, and “everyday violence.” We will consider the possibilities and limitations of human rights mechanisms.
Maternal and Child Health| Fox Young, Melissa (HLTH 385-12)
This interactive, discussion-based course will integrate scientific understandings of the key drivers and significance of maternal and child health across the continuum of preconception, pregnancy, lactation, and childhood for long-term health and development in low-income settings.
Social Networks and Health | Fitzroy, Andrea (HLTH 385-2)
In today’s highly connected world, social networks, an interconnected web of social relationships and interactions that individuals have with others in physical and virtual spaces, significantly shape our lives, including our physical and mental well-being. This interdisciplinary course delves into the complex relationship between social networks and health. Drawing on psychology, sociology, and public health, students will explore how social networks affect physical, mental, and overall well-being. This course combines lectures, discussions, group activities, and media from various fields to provide a comprehensive understanding of social networks. Students will critically evaluate the latest research and develop practical skills related to social network analysis and health research. Substantial advances in our understanding of the structure, characteristics, and functions of social networks, and their impact on health, provide opportunities for novel interventions to improve the health of individuals, communities, and populations. By the end of this course, students will be well-equipped to investigate the intricate relationship between social networks and health and to contribute to efforts to improve the well-being of individuals and communities. This course provides a wealth of information for all students considering health-related careers.