Health, Culture, and Societies

Overview

As has become evident over the past several years, biological, social, cultural, economic, and political factors interact to shape experiences of health, illness, and disease in societies past and present. The Joint AOC in Health, Culture, and Societies (HCS) encourages analysis of these interwoven factors and their impact on health and well-being. It is designed to complement and deepen the learning experience in other AOCs for students interested in health-related careers, broadly defined. It is radically interdisciplinary (i.e., cross-divisional) and transdisciplinary (i.e., crossing the lines between academia, professional work outside of academia, and community engagement).

The HCS program provides an opportunity for students to explore different aspects and conceptions of health in their broader socio-cultural contexts. The underlying organization and cross-divisional design make this program appropriate for students who are interested in health from a humanistic (i.e., artistic, literary, historical, philosophical, or ethical), social scientific (i.e., anthropological, psychological, social, economic, or political), and natural scientific (i.e., biological, biochemical, physiological, or epidemiological) perspective, regardless of their primary area of concentration.

Along with an introductory course that presents interdisciplinary frameworks for understanding health, medicine, and disease, core course requirements focus on epidemiology, history of medicine, medical anthropology, medical ethics, and global health. A required professionalization seminar, offered as a group Independent Study Project (ISP), consists of career planning exercises and conversations with professionals in a wide variety of health-related fields. A required practicum allows students to explore internships and practical experiences with the support of core faculty and the Center for Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO). CEO staff will assist students in securing practicums and help guide students on post-practicum reflections.

The Joint AOC in Health, Culture, and Societies will help prepare students for careers in medicine, nursing, and public health, as well as in allied health fields and specialized areas, including but not limited to art and music therapy, biophysics, data science, policy analysis, health advocacy, and healthcare administration. Moreover, this program allows students to become holistically educated citizens of health while providing flexibility, global vision, a focus on equity, and practical skills.

Faculty in Health, Culture, and Societies

Kristopher Fennie, Associate Professor of Epidemiology (On Leave Fall 2025)
Yidong Gong, Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Requirements for the Joint AOC in Health, Culture, and Societies

A minimum of six (6) academic units, a professionalization seminar, and a practicum.

Representative Senior Theses in Health, Culture, and Societies

• Addiction: Critique of the BDMA and Development of a Transdisciplinary, Biopsychosocial-Ecological Model
• Educating the Bodymind in Dickens's Our Mutual Friend and McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang
• Understanding Perceptions of Fictional Depictions of Autism in the Media