Program Overview

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Health, Mind and Body (HIST*4200)

Course Details

The course code for Health, Mind and Body is HIST*4200, with section 01, offered during the Fall 2018 term. The course instructor is Tara Abraham.

Course Synopsis

This course examines the historical dimensions of scientific and medical efforts to understand the relations between mind, brain, and body, from the late nineteenth century to the present. Focusing on the American context, the course will examine the institutional dimensions of attempts to both understand and treat individuals suffering from mental illness and neurological disorders. In relation to this, the course will also explore attempts to make sense of the brain and its function as a locus of behaviour, affect, and mental state. The course will approach the subject from the perspective of several historical actors, including scientists, clinicians, patients, and critics. Wherever possible, attention will be paid to the effects of social and cultural context on how individual minds and brains have been constructed, explained, and treated.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this seminar course, students should be able to:

• Discuss and analyse various approaches to madness and mental illness since the 19th century
• Understand the status of psychiatry as a medical specialty and how and why its status has changed over time
• Critically evaluate and discuss scholarly work in the history of medicine and other relevant scholarly fields, through the process of seminar presentations and discussions
• Effectively use both primary and secondary historical sources in making an historical argument and presenting that argument clearly in written form
• Develop skills in oral presentation of research and the process of scholarly inquiry
• Collaborate with peers in giving and receiving critical feedback on research and written work

Methods of Evaluation and Weights

The methods of evaluation and their respective weights are as follows:

• Seminar Presentations (2 x 10% each): 20%
• Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography: 10%
• Research Presentation: 10%
• Peer Review: 5%
• Research Essay: 35%
• Seminar Participation: 20%

Required Readings

A set of online readings is available through Ares.

Departments and Schools

The course is associated with the following departments and schools:

• School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing
• School of Fine Art and Music
• School of Languages and Literatures
• Department of History
• Department of Philosophy
• Interdisciplinary Programs

Centres, Institutes and Labs

The university is home to several centres, institutes, and labs, including:

• Centre for Scottish Studies
• Grounded and Engaged Theory Lab (GET)
• Interdisciplinary Design Lab
• The International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation
• The Humanities Interdisciplinary Collaboration Lab (THINC)
• The School of Fine Art & Music Print Study Collection