Medical Humanities: An Introduction

This textbook brings the humanities to students in order to evoke the humanity of students. It helps to form individuals who take charge of their own minds, who are free from narrow and unreflective forms of thought, and who act compassionately in their public and professional worlds. Using concepts and methods of the humanities, the book addresses undergraduate and premed students, medical students, and students in other health professions, as well as physicians and other healthcare practitioners. It encourages them to consider the ethical and existential issues related to the experience of disease, care of the dying, health policy, religion and health, and medical technology. Case studies, images, questions for discussion, and role-playing exercises help readers to engage in the practical, interpretive, and analytical aspects of the material, developing skills for critical thinking as well as compassionate care.

Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr Cole has published many articles and several books on the history of aging and humanistic gerontology. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer prize. His book No Color Is my Kind and accompanying film The Strange Demise of Jim Crow (1997) were nominated for a National Humanities medal. His work has been featured in the New York Times, on National Public Radio, Voice of America, PBS, and at the United Nations.

Nathan S. Carlin is Associate Professor at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics and Director of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He has co-authored two previous books, Living in Limbo: Life in the Midst of Uncertainty (2010) and 100 Years of Happiness: Insights and Findings from the Experts (2012). He has also published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews in about a dozen different journals.

Ronald A. Carson is Professor Emeritus at the Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch. He has received fellowships from the Institute on Human Values in Medicine, the Council for Philosophical Studies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is an elected Fellow of the Hastings Center, a former president of the Society for Health and Human Values, and a recipient of that society's annual award. He has written many articles, chapters, and book reviews. He is co-editor of four books, including Practicing the Medical Humanities: Engaging Physicians and Patients (2003).