Medical Humanities
Graduate Certificate in Medical Humanities
(GradCertMedHum) KG013
Graduate Diploma in Medical Humanities
(GradDipMedHum) KF050
Master of Medical Humanities
(MMedHum) KC070
| Course | Credit points for award | Duration full-time | Duration part-time |
|---|---|---|---|
| GradCertMedHum | 24 | 0.5 years | 1 to 4 years |
| GradDipMedHum | 36 | 1 year | 1.5 to 3 years |
| MMedHum | 48 | 1 year | 1.5 to 4 years |
Overview
The medical humanities program explores the human side of health and healthcare. It aims to overcome the separation of clinical care from the human experience of illness through the use of concepts and analytic tools from various arts and social science disciplines. The medical humanities provide insight into the human condition (for example suffering, personhood and our responsibility to each other) and offer an historical perspective on illness and healthcare.
Knowledge of literature and the arts helps to develop and nurture skills of observation, analysis, empathy, and self-reflection skills that are essential for humane medical care. The social sciences help us to understand how bioscience and medicine take place within cultural and social contexts and how culture interacts with the individual experience of illness and the way medicine is practiced.
Course Outcomes
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
- identify the differences between a biomedical view of health, illness and disease and the viewpoint of various disciplines in the arts and humanities
- describe how conceptions of medicine developed over time and continue to develop, and how these are likely to shape our understanding of health and well-being
- critically assess and respond to the individual and social circumstances in which ill-health takes place
- improve their skills in the five areas of knowledge, thinking, personal skills, personal attributes and practical skills
- creatively approach understanding diverse experiences and responses to illness, health, and caring for others
Further Information
Candidates for the Graduate Certificate must complete 24 credit points of study. Candidates for the Graduate Diploma must complete 36 credit points of study. Candidates for the Masters of Medical Humanities must complete 48 credit points of study. Candidates must chose their units of study from among those offered in the Medical Humanities program (units with code prefix MMHU), the Bioethics program (units with code prefix BETH)
(http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/velim/pgcoursework/bioethics.php) or the Qualitative Research program (units with code prefix QUAL) (http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/velim/pgcoursework/qualitative.php). Details of these are listed below. Candidates for the Graduate Diploma may include one, and candidates for the Masters of Medical Humanities may include two, external unit of study, drawn from any department across the university, with the permission of both course coordinators. This is to allow students to explore or pursue their individual areas of interest.
Degree Resolutions
Sydney Medical School resolutions and the printed handbook are the official statement of Faculty policy. The resolutions contained in the printed handbook are accurate as at November 2010. If a conflict is perceived between the content of the printed handbook and information available elsewhere, Sydney Medical School resolutions and the information available in the handbook online shall always take precedence. See the handbook online website:
http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/handbooks_admin/medicine.shtml.
See the Policy Online website: http://sydney.edu.au/policy, for copies of University policies.
Master of Medical Humanities
These resolutions must be read in conjunction with applicable University By-laws, Rules and policies including (but not limited to) the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (the 'Coursework Rule'), the Resolutions of the Faculty, the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006 (as amended) and the Academic Board policies on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.
Course resolutions
1 Course codes
| Code | Course title |
|---|---|
| KG013 | Graduate Certificate in Medical Humanities |
| KF050 | Graduate Diploma in Medical Humanities |
| KC070 | Master of Medical Humanities |
2 Attendance pattern
3 Master's type
0.
The master's degree in these resolutions is a professional master's course, as defined by the Coursework Rule.
4 Embedded courses in this sequence
(2)
Providing candidates satisfy the admission requirements for each stage, a candidate may progress to the award of any of the courses in this sequence. Only the longest award completed will be conferred.
5 Admission to candidature
(1)
Available places will be offered to qualified applicants based on merit, according to the following admissions criteria. In exceptional circumstances the Dean may admit applicants without these qualifications who, in the opinion of the Faculty, have qualifications, evidence of experience and achievement sufficient to successfully undertake the award.
6 Requirements for award
(1)
The units of study that may be taken for the courses are set out in Table of Units of Study: Medical Humanities.
(2)
To qualify for the award of the Graduate Certificate in Medical Humanities a candidate must successfully complete 24 credit points, including:
(a)
a minimum 18 credit points of units of study selected from Part 1 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study; and
(b)
a maximum 6 credit points of units of study selected from Part 2 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study, or other postgraduate units of study as approved by the course coordinator.
(3)
To qualify for the award of the Graduate Diploma in Medical Humanities a candidate must successfully complete 36 credit points, including:
(a)
a minimum 30 credit points of units of study selected from Part 1 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study; and
(b)
a maximum 6 credit points of units of study selected from Part 2 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study, or other postgraduate unit of study as approved by the course coordinator.
(4)
To qualify for the award of the Master of Medical Humanities a candidate must successfully complete 48 credit points, including:
(a)
a minimum 36 credit points of units of study selected from Part 1 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study; and
(b)
a maximum 12 credit points of units of study selected from Part 2 of the Medical Humanities table of units of study, or other postgraduate unit of study as approved by the course coordinator.
7 Transitional provisions
Table of Units of Study: Medical Humanities
| Unit of study | Credit points | A: Assumed knowledge P: Prerequisites C: Corequisites N: Prohibition | Session |
|---|---|---|---|
Part 1 |
|||
| MMHU6901 Medicine and War is only offered in even years. | |||
| MMHU6905 Medicine and Music and MMHU6906 Bodies on Display:Medicine, Museums, Art are only offered in odd years. | |||
| MMHU6901 Medicine and War |
6 | Semester 1 |
|
| MMHU6902 Independent Study |
6 | Semester 1 Semester 2 |
|
| MMHU6904 Medicine in Antiquity |
6 | Semester 2 |
|
| MMHU6905 Medicine and Music |
6 | Semester 1 |
|
| MMHU6906 Bodies on Display:Medicine, Museums, Art |
6 | Semester 2 |
|
| MMHU6909 Risk and Health: Communication, Policy |
6 |
Note: Department permission required for enrolment Students request permission from the unit of study coordinator to enrol in this unit. The coordinator emails the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit advice that the student has permission to enrol. |
Semester 2 |
| MMHU6911 Spirituality, Medicine and Health Care |
2 |
Note: Department permission required for enrolment Students request permission from the unit of study coordinator to enrol in this unit. The coordinator emails the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit advice that the student has permission to enrol. |
Semester 2 |
| MMHU6913 History of Medicine |
6 | Semester 1 |
|
| BETH5000 Core Concepts in Bioethics |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 2 |
| BETH5101 Introduction to Ethical Reasoning |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 1 |
| BETH5102 Philosophy of Medicine |
6 | A A three-year degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field - or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 1 |
| BETH5103 Biomedicine and Society |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 2 |
| BETH5104 Bioethics, Law and Society |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission |
Semester 1 |
| BETH5201 Ethics and Biotech: Genes and Stem Cells |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 1 |
| BETH5202 Human and Animal Research Ethics |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 2 |
| BETH5203 Ethics and Public Health |
6 | A A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 2 |
| BETH5204 Clinical Ethics |
6 | A Honours or equivalent degree, or other appropriate terminal undergraduate degree (such as a three-year nursing degree) in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field-or by special permission. A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year. |
Semester 1 |
| BETH5205 Ethics and Mental Health |
6 | Semester 2 |
|
Part 2 |
|||
| SCWK6944 Death, Dying and Mourning |
6 | Semester 1 |
|
| HPSC4103 Sociology of Science |
6 | P Available only to students admitted to HPS Honours, Graduate Diploma in Science (History and Philosophy of Science) and Graduate Certificate in Science (History and Philosophy of Science), or by special permission. Note: Department permission required for enrolment |
Semester 2 |
| RLST6951 Spirituality, Consumerism and Health |
6 | Semester 2 |
|
Further enquiries
Dr Claire Hooker
Phone: +61 2 9036 3413
Fax: +61 2 9036 3436
Email:
Website: http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/humanities
Units of Study Descriptions for 2011
Part 1
MMHU6901 Medicine and War
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Assessment: 2xarticle summaries and critical assessment 750words each; 1xresearch essay - 3500words Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
In this unit we will examine the links between medicine and war. This will be done both through substantive topics and through exposure to different intellectual and methodological approaches drawn from the humanities and social sciences, such as communicable diseases; new psychiatric problems and techniques; torture; ethical considerations concerning the involvement of the medical profession; the representation of medicine and war in literature and film (eg Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy); and in the visual arts (e.g. Picasso's Guernica).
Textbooks
Barker P. Regeneration. Penguin, 1992
MMHU6902 Independent Study
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1hr/week supervision Assessment: 1x research essay 4000-5000words; 2x 750word pass/fail exercises Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
This unit will provide an opportunity for approved candidates to pursue an extended project under supervision. Students will be expected to discuss and plan the project with their supervisor, then submit drafted material to an agreed timetable, and to discuss this drafted material with their supervisor before submitting a final draft.
Textbooks
A course reader will be supplied
MMHU6904 Medicine in Antiquity
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Professor John Tidmarsh Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2 hr seminar weekly for 6 weeks plus a tour through Syria and Jordon in September/October Assessment: 2x 2500 word essays (2x50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
This unit of study explores medicine in the ancient world. This unit allows unique hands on learning through the Nicholson Museum. A major component is a trip to archaeological sites in Syria and Jordan led by renowned archaeologist Professor John Tidmarsh and organized through the Centre for Continuing Education. Book now to secure your place.
MMHU6905 Medicine and Music
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Prof Michael Field, Prof Jack Carmody Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x class presentation and short essay - 1500-2000wds (30%), 1 research essay - 3000-3500wds (70%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
In this unit, we will examine the links between medicine and music, through substantive topics and exposure to different intellectual and methodological approaches drawn from the humanities and social sciences. Areas for discussion include music and well-being; music and healing; the psychological and physiological basis of music appreciation and the existence of phenomena such as the 'idiot savant'; the place and role of music therapy, especially in relation to psychiatric disorders (e.g. autistic spectrum disorders in children); various historical connections (e.g. doctors as musicians, and the impact of illness on composers).
MMHU6906 Bodies on Display:Medicine, Museums, Art
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2 hr seminar per week for 13 weeks Assessment: 1x 3000 wd essay (60%), 1x 2000 wd essay (40%) and participation Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
This single semester unit of study examines how the body has been represented in the convergent spaces of medicine and art. The unit focus is on medical museums, with a component of fieldwork and interaction with museums on and nearby the University campus - the Wilson anatomy museum, the pathology museum, the Shellshear Museum (anthropological material), the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Museum, The Macleay Museum and the Pathology museum at the University of NSW. In this course students will consider how and why the human body has been displayed and represented as an object of knowledge, art, and entertainment, through class sessions that consider the history of medical museums, the ethics of museum displays, and the relationship between museums and other forms of scientific and artistic display of the body in medical atlases, medical photography and in the work of artists who utilise medical museums. Later in the course some comparisons will be made with more recent forms of display and artistry around the medicalised body, such as the Visible Man project and Gunter von Huygens' plastination displays. While the focus of the course will be centred on representations of the body, students will also be encouraged to consider, compare and critique the ways in which museums present stories about medicine.
MMHU6909 Risk and Health: Communication, Policy
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2day intensive plus online learning and assessment Assessment: 1x 3000 wd essay (40%), 1x 1500 wd essay (30%) and participation and report (30%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Distance Education/Intensive on Campus
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: Students request permission from the unit of study coordinator to enrol in this unit. The coordinator emails the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit advice that the student has permission to enrol.
This single semester unit of study examines connections between risk communication and health policy around a variety of health risk issues. The unit offers a combination of a two-day face-to-face intensive study of psychological and sociological approaches to understanding health risks, and of policy processes in health risk controversies. The central focus will be on communicating with patients and the public as risk events unfold, and on interaction and impacts of policy choices and risk communication. The two day intensive will be followed by a series of online problem based learning and assessment tasks, in which the skills and concepts of risk communication and policy development will be applied to real case examples. Exemplar will include controversies over: immunization, hormone replacement therapy, air and water quality, siting telecommunications towers, cancer clusters and responses to epidemic outbreaks
MMHU6911 Spirituality, Medicine and Health Care
Credit points: 2 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2 day intensive face to face Assessment: 1 x 2000 word essay or major work equivalent (100%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Note: Students request permission from the unit of study coordinator to enrol in this unit. The coordinator emails the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit advice that the student has permission to enrol.
This unit of study will explore issues of spirituality in medicine and health care. Illness events and threatened mortality often bring spiritual issues to the fore for both patients and their carers, and healing is often experienced as necessarily encompassing spiritual dimensions by health care workers themselves. This unit will discuss concepts of spirituality, what dimensions spirituality provides to illness and healing, how to negotiate different religious practices in healing and in medical and health care ethics, and spirituality and end of life care. Participants will have the opportunity to workshop issues from their personal or professional experiences of health care.
MMHU6913 History of Medicine
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Claire Hooker Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 2 hr seminar weekly or online response to readings Assessment: 2x 2500 word essay (100%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Evening
This unit of study offers the student an overview of the history of medicine. The unit traces the main developments in the history of medicine from the ancient world of China and Egypt, through the Islamic empire and Renaissance, to the scientific and laboratory revolutions of the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Students will learn more than a history of ideas. They will learn to relate social changes to changes in intellectual development in medicine, and to question connections between the history of ideas and the history of therapeutic practices. Students will examine major organisational alterations like the growth of the hospital system and explore the issue of medicalisation from an historical perspective.
BETH5000 Core Concepts in Bioethics
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 13 x 2 hr seminars Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: 1x750 wd review (15%) and 1x1500wd essay (35%) and 1x200-2500 wd essay (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit of study provides a broad overview of the primary issues in, and theoretical approaches to, bioethics. Following an introduction to the history of bioethics and review of the major theoretical approaches to applied ethics, central debates in bioethics surrounding doctor-patient relationships, informed consent, privacy/confidentiality, research ethics, abortion, euthanasia, genetics, cloning, stem cell research, justice and distribution of health care resources, etc., are examined. In addition to classical cases and traditional theoretical perspectives, emerging topics and alternative perspectives are explored. The unit concludes with the topic of global public health and socio-political critique(s) of the discipline of bioethics itself. Learning activities will include seminars, small group sessions, and project work.
BETH5101 Introduction to Ethical Reasoning
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 13 x 2hr seminars Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: 1 x 2000wd essay (35%); 1x 4000wd essay (55%); participation (10%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit prepares students for advanced analysis of issues in bioethics by laying foundations in both critical thinking and ethical theory. Following an introduction to the construction and assessment of arguments, central issues of debate in meta-ethics, normative ethics, and political philosophy are examined. Major traditional (historical, consequential, deontological, contractarian/egalitarian, and communitarian) theoretical frameworks as well as postmodern/continental perspectives are introduced and critically evaluated. The unit concludes with an introduction to applied and professional ethics. It is recommended, but not required, that BETH5101 is taken during students' first semester in the program.
BETH5102 Philosophy of Medicine
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 13 x 2hr seminars Assumed knowledge: A three-year degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field - or by special permission. Assessment: 1x exercise 1200wds (30%); 1 x essay 3000-4000wds (60%); Participation (10%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit of study introduces students to the broader philosophical issues and epistemological structures that underlie medicine and the biomedical sciences. The unit will begin by introducing students to the philosophy of science and medicine, epistemology and the concepts of health, illness and disease. The second part of the unit will review debates regarding disease causation and the social construction of disease. Students will then consider issues relating to the generation and use of knowledge and evidence, and the differences between conventional and alternative/non-Western approaches to illness and healing. The final part of the unit will focus on diagnosis, nosology and classification of disease, with particular reference to mental illness.
BETH5103 Biomedicine and Society
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 13 x 2hr seminars Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: 1 x exercise 1200 wds (30%); 1 x 3000-4000 wd essay (60%); Participation (10%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
How does biomedicine both influence and reflect the broader society of which it is a part? This unit of study addresses this general question by examining a series of ethical and social issues relating to sex and drugs. The issues relate to gender, reproduction and sexual behaviour, and some of the drugs that have played a key role in the medicalisation of human experience in these domains. The course readings explore the issues from a range of different perspectives (i.e. history, sociology, politics, health policy, philosophy, religion, feminism, public health, and personal experience) with the aim of broadening the scope of bioethical inquiry. Each topic introduces specific concepts which students are encouraged to apply. Students are also encouraged to draw on their own disciplinary and/or professional background. Seminars, on-line discussions and coursework will provide opportunities to learn from other students, and apply learning from other units of study.
BETH5104 Bioethics, Law and Society
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 3 x 8hr intensives Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission Assessment: 1 x Problem 1500 wds (40%); 1 x 2000wd essay (60%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
The unit of study will begin by introducing students to interrelationships between health care, ethics and the law. In particular students will explore the moral basis of law and the means by which law influences moral norms, clinical practice and health policy. Students will be shown how to critically read and analyse primary sources of law relevant to bioethics. Students will then examine a number of areas of law that have particular significance for bioethics and society including the law of tort (consent and standards of care), contract (confidentiality), criminal law (euthanasia and abortion), public health law, administrative law and law reform.
BETH5201 Ethics and Biotech: Genes and Stem Cells
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 6 x 2hr seminars
1 x 8 hr intensive Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: 3 Tutorial assessments - 400 wds each (3x 10%); 1 x 1200-1500 wd essay (30%); 1 x 2200 - 2500 wd essay (40%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit introduces students to the broader social/political, ethical/philosophical and legal/regulatory issues that underlie genetics, stem cell research and the emerging biotechnologies. The unit will provide a brief overview of the relevant science before considering scientific, cultural and religious understandings of life and human identity. The second part of the unit will review the political, regulatory and commercial context of biotechnology and the control of information. Students will then review the history of genetics and eugenics and the ethical issues that arise in clinical and population genetics, stem cell research and cloning. The final part of the unit will explore the boundaries of research and knowledge and the issues raised by emerging biotechnologies, such as nanotechnology and proteomics. Learning activities will include an intensive seminar program, small group sessions and reading. Students will be able to concentrate on stem cell research, clinical or molecular genetics or other biotechnologies according to their clinical and scientific interests and experience.
BETH5202 Human and Animal Research Ethics
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 3 x 8 hr intensive Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: Continuous assessment (20%); Briefing paper (30%); Position Paper (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit introduces students to research ethics in its social context. Students will first analyse the philosophical underpinnings of the research endeavour, including the justifications for engaging in research, research priorities and research integrity. The unit will then review the history of research and research abuses, the evolution of research ethics and the regulation of research in Australia. The second part of the unit will focus on issues arising in the conduct of research including; the protection of research subjects (both human and animal), consent, confidentiality and risk/benefit analysis.
BETH5203 Ethics and Public Health
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 3 x 8hr Intensives Assumed knowledge: A three-year undergraduate degree in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field, or by special permission. Assessment: 10 x Online tasks 250-400wds (20%); 1 x 1000 wd essay (30%); 1 x 2500 wd essay (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit will provide students with an overview of the broader philosophical, ethical, sociopolitical and cultural issues that underlie public health and public health research. Students will first review the history of public health and examine the values that underpin health promotion and disease prevention. The second part of the unit will critique the place of facts and values in public health and the construction and use of information, with particular reference to evidence-based-medicine. The third part of the unit will examine the cultural, moral and social context of public health including the social determinants of health, the construction of health services, the determination of research priorities and issues relating to human rights and global health. Learning activities will include 2-hour weekly seminars and readings. Assessment tasks will consist of essays and a presentation/project.
BETH5204 Clinical Ethics
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 3 x 8hr Intensives Assumed knowledge: Honours or equivalent degree, or other appropriate terminal undergraduate degree (such as a three-year nursing degree) in science, medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, philosophy/ethics, sociology/anthropology, history, or other relevant field-or by special permission. Assessment: 1 x 1500 wd case study ((30%); 1 x 3000 wd essay (50%); 10 x online tasks 25-400 wd (20%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
Note: A limited number of students may be granted permission to take this unit during their honours year.
This unit will provide students with an overview of the broader philosophical, ethical, sociopolitical, and cultural issues that underlie the delivery of healthcare. Students will first explore major conceptual models for ethical reasoning in the clinical context; the design and delivery of clinical ethics consultation; and issues relating to the role of the professions. The second part of the unit will examine the foundations of clinical practice, including consent, competence, veracity, confidentiality, and decision-making. The third part of the unit will consider specific issues and populations within clinical practice, such as the care of vulnerable populations, mental health, and chronic illness. The next part of the unit will focus on skills associated with clinical ethics including analytic and mediation skills. The unit will conclude with reflections on current debates in the Australian healthcare context, particularly issues associated with healthcare rationing. Learning activities will include lectures (in an intensive format), facilitated discussion, case study presentations, and readings. Assessment tasks will consist of essays, a portfolio/journal, and a presentation/project.
BETH5205 Ethics and Mental Health
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 3 x 8hr Intensives Assessment: 1 x 1000 - 1500 wd essay (25%); 1 x 2200 - 2500 wd essay (50%); On line learning participation (15%); Attendance (10%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Block Mode
Mental health and mental illness are unique in the field of health care and bioethics. The very nature of psychiatric disorder and its relationship with prevailing social and cultural factors, in addition to the unique status of the mental health patient, necessitate a specific discourse in biomedical ethics in the area of mental health. This course will provide participants with a broad perspective of issues in bioethics applied to mental health and mental illness. Students will examine the history of the psychiatric profession and consider the adequacy of current safeguards against the abuses of power seen in the history of the profession of psychiatry. Other areas considered in the course include the current ethical dilemmas in mental health care, the implications of technological advances in the neurosciences, the philosophical basis of the concept of mental disorder, the relationship between power and the psychiatric profession and the complex relationship between morality, mental health and the law. The course aspires to inform future decision makers in health, public policy, clinical settings and academia in the unique aspects of biomedical ethics in the field of mental health.
Part 2
SCWK6944 Death, Dying and Mourning
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Lindsey Napier Session: Semester 1 Classes: on-line Assessment: 6x500wd postings (30%) and participation (10%) and 1x3000wd essay (60%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: On-line
The purpose of this unit of study is to introduce students to the various, often competing discourses both constituting and challenging notions of self around death, dying and mourning. An important focus is sociological approaches to these issues as they reflect broader cultural understanding of such issues as community relations and continuity, sex and sexuality, disease, stigma and social control. This unit is also available as a single unit of study to professionals who wish to undertake this as a stand-alone unit.
HPSC4103 Sociology of Science
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Hans Pols Session: Semester 2 Classes: One 2 hour seminar per week, individual consultation. Prerequisites: Available only to students admitted to HPS Honours, Graduate Diploma in Science (History and Philosophy of Science) and Graduate Certificate in Science (History and Philosophy of Science), or by special permission. Assessment: 5000wd essay (50%) Seminar presentation (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit explores recent approaches in the social studies of scientific knowledge. Students evaluate various sociological approaches by conducting their own research on topics relevant to their own major thesis.
The unit starts with an overview of the development of history and philosophy of science since 1945, to put the emergence of the sociology of science into perspective, before moving on to a selection of readings from the field. Topics will include: the strong program critique of traditional philosophy of science, the sociology of technology, the impact of feminism on the study of science, and the actor-network approach developed by Bruno Latour and Michel Callon.
The unit starts with an overview of the development of history and philosophy of science since 1945, to put the emergence of the sociology of science into perspective, before moving on to a selection of readings from the field. Topics will include: the strong program critique of traditional philosophy of science, the sociology of technology, the impact of feminism on the study of science, and the actor-network approach developed by Bruno Latour and Michel Callon.
Textbooks
Course reader
RLST6951 Spirituality, Consumerism and Health
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Jay Johnston Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x1000wd tutorial paper (50%) and 1x4000wd research essay (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day
This unit examines the way in which concepts of health and spirituality are often interrelated and represented in popular culture. This includes examining the alternative health industry and its interrelationship with various spiritual traditions (East and West) and consumer ideologies. Significant attention will be given to the analysis of diverse media forms (print and online). It also considers popular ethical discourse on the interrelationship of health and ecology; the reciprocal relationships of healing of self and planet; green consumerism, eco-villages and concepts of 'healthy' communities.