Dec 11, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Health Humanities Minor (E)


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Illness, disability, medicine, and caretaking cut across academic disciplines. Being knowledgeable in the cultural, socio-economic, emotional, and political aspects of health can better prepare one to be a successful professional and engaged citizen.

The Health Humanities minor enables all students, regardless of major or career goal, to study the lived experience of illness. Students benefit by developing useful skills and habits of mind, such as perspective taking, self-awareness, cultural fluency, and social advocacy.  

Students are introduced to the health humanities through two required courses: HHUM/ENGL 210: Narratives of Illness, Disability, and Caretaking (3 credits) and PHIL 215: Healthcare Ethics (3 credits).

Elective courses (6 credits) empower students to diversify and customize their study of the health humanities. Electives options are extensive and include 50+ courses from across the university.

In the capstone course (HHUM 410 or HHUM 498), students synthesize their knowledge, engage in research, and reflect on their studies. At the conclusion of the capstone course, students develop an ePortfolio that communicates the value of their health humanities expertise to employers, graduate school admissions committees, and other groups.

The minor offers two tracks to better accommodate students’ needs: Track 1 (18-19 credits) is open to all students except for pre/nursing majors. Track 2 (18-19 credits) is open to pre/nursing majors as well as other majors that require an extensive clinical and/or professional placement.

REAL Curriculum


This minor fulfills the E area of the REAL Curriculum. As an interdisciplinary minor within the E area, it combines methodologies from numerous humanistic and creative disciplines to engage students in studying the expressive and creative forms through which the lived experiences of illness caretaking, medicine, and disability are mediated. (Such disciplines include literary and cultural studies, communication and media studies, philosophy, religious studies, sociology, and history.) As a result, students gain insight how the lived experience of illness is broadly communicated, understood, and constructed. Students need majors and/or minors to fulfill the R, A, and L areas to complete the REAL Curriculum requirements.

REAL Cornerstone Requirements


Writing Intensive (WI) Courses (6 credits)


Writing Intensive courses are denoted below with a (WI). Two writing intensive courses are required to graduate, with at least one at the 300- or 400-level. The Health Humanities minor includes 3 credits of writing intensive courses.

General Education Requirements


General Education courses will be denoted below with a (GE). Students are required to take at least 30 credit hours of general education designated courses within their degree requirements. The Health Humanities minor includes 6 general education credits.

Minor Requirements (18-19 credits)


Curricular Tracks


The minor offers two tracks to better accommodate students’ needs: “Track 1” (18-19 credit hours) and “Track 2”  (18-19 credit hours).

Track 1 is open to all students except for Pre-Nursing and Nursing majors.

Track 2 is open to all Pre-Nursing and Nursing majors. Students in other majors that require an extensive clinical and/or professional placement also may pursue Track 2 of the minor; consult the Coordinator of the Health Humanities minor for more information.

Track 1 - All Undergraduates Except for Pre-Nursing/Nursing Majors (18-19 credit hours)


Electives (6 credits)

Two approved electives that have different prefixes from one another. See the Additional Information section below for more information about approved electives.

Track 2 - Pre-Nursing/Nursing Majors and Other Majors with Permission (18-19 credit hours)


Required Capstone Course (1-3 credits)

Note(s):

HHUM 498  is an online, asynchronous course. It does not meet face-to-face. See the Additional Information section below for more information about this course.

Electives (6-8 credits)

  • Two approved electives that have different prefixes from one another (6-8 credits total); Nursing majors may use one approved 5-credit practicum course with the prefix NURS to satisfy part of the electives requirement for the minor. See the Additional Information section below for more information about approved electives.
  • Students who take HHUM 498  for fewer than 3 credits will take ONE of the following courses as one of their electives: RELN 381 , PHIL 430 , ENGL 309 , ENGL 310 , ENGL 311 , ENGL 312 .

Total Credits Needed for Minor 18-19


Additional Information


The Health Humanities Minor offers more than 50 elective courses, but not all are offered every semester. To assist students and their advisors in selecting elective courses, a list of “featured electives” is maintained on the Health Humanities program website, www.radford.edu/hhum, and it is updated regularly. Students also may petition to have specific courses considered for elective credit. Questions regarding electives may be directed to the Health Humanities Coordinator.

HHUM 498 : is an online, asynchronous course that is required of students in Track 2 of the minor. Students for whom the course is required should consult with the Coordinator of the Health Humanities minor and their major advisor to determine whether the course should be taken for 1, 2, or 3 credit hours. In limited circumstances, students enrolled in Track 1 of the minor may enroll in HHUM 498  with permission of the program coordinator.

Students pursuing the Health Humanities must consult with the Coordinator of the Health Humanities minor (or a program representative) during the advising period for Fall and Spring semesters. Contact information for the coordinator can be found on the Health Humanities website at www.radford.edu/hhum.

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