Culture, Health and Society (CHeS) is an interdisciplinary minor, housed in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), that offers students in-depth and substantive exposure to the connections between health understood broadly, and the arts, humanities and social sciences. The CHeS minor aims to supplement the scholarly understanding of DU undergraduate students pursuing any major, as well as enhance their career opportunities. Students who successfully complete the 20 credit-hour coursework requirement will have the Culture, Health and Society minor noted on their transcript.
The CHeS minor aims to expand students’ understandings of health, disease, health inequalities, wellbeing, health care, and/or health systems, by offering a variety of courses in key disciplines including, but not limited to: Economics; Media, Film, and Journalism; Anthropology; History; Psychology; Communication; Music; Philosophy; Art; and Sociology.
Why Choose Culture, Health and Society at DU?
The CHeS minor is aimed at students in any major who are interested in any aspect of health, disease, and wellbeing, as well as students who are specifically interested in health and medical professions.
The CHeS minor aims to promote learning about health, disease, health inequalities, wellbeing, health care, and/or health systems through interdisciplinary examination and community engagement.
The CHeS minor promotes a critical and scholarly inquiry of health-related issues and generating knowledge to address health inequalities within and across communities.
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The CHeS minor aligns with DU’s commitment to DEI, Inclusive Excellence, dedication to the public good, and the development of the whole student/person. This minor aligns with university goals of offering the 4D experience to students.
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Adding CHeS as a minor supports and provides additional perspectives to students pursuing medical occupations, students generally interested in health from non-medical perspectives, and students not pursuing medical occupations.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses (4 credits):
ECON 1740: Political Economy of Health and Healthcare (course proposal in progress)
OR
ANTH 2525: Culture, Health and Society
Electives (16 credits):
Student can take any four courses from the Content Courses listed below, but you must take content courses in at least two departments and cannot take all four courses from one department. Upon approval, students can transfer into the minor up to 8 credit hours from appropriate study abroad courses.
- ANTH 2323 Global Health
- ANTH 2424 The Social Determination of Health
- ANTH 3320 Medical Anthropology
- ARTS 3452 Photography and Society
- COMN 1700 Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication
- COMN 2270 Intro to Health Communication
- COMN 2701 Practicing Character for Living with Anxiety.
- COMN 3701 / ARTS 3701 Using Photography for Intercultural Awareness and Understanding in South Korea (Interterm travel course)
- COMN 3700 Topics in Communication (Visual Narratives of Women's Health)
- COMN 3702 Topics in Communication (Communicating Grief and Loss)
- ECON 2400 Public Finance
- ECON 3740 Health Economics
- ENGL 3730 Literature and Medicine: Addiction and Modernity
- GERM 3940 Health, (Dis-)Ability and Well-Being in German-Speaking Cultures
- HIST 1240 Comparative History of Medicine
- MFJS 2205 International and Development Communication
- MFJS 3207 Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in Health Communication
- PSYC 2031 Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
- PSYC 3160 Emotion Regulation
- PSYC 3262 Affective Neuroscience
- PSYC 3665 Executive Functioning
- SOCI 2240 Sociology of Health
This minor program requires 20 total credits.
Featured Courses
ECON 3740
Health Economics
About this Course
This course is designed to study the nature of the organization of health care production, delivery and utilization according to economic theory. It introduces the up-to-date problems and issues in the U.S. health care system by studying demand for and supply of health care services, health care production and costs, and market analysis of health care industry. Important parties playing roles in health care industry such as private health insurance firms, physicians, pharmaceutical industry, and hospital services will be studied in detail. In addition, the course deals with the role of government in health care industry and various health care reforms proposed in the U.S. Restriction: junior standing.
ANTH 2424
The Social Determination of Health
About this Course
This course is an introduction to sociocultural epidemiology. As the scientific basis of public health, epidemiology is the discipline that aims to describe the distribution and causes of health problems in a society, which require interdisciplinary conceptual and analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of health, disease and health care and their manifestations around the world. This course presents an overview of epidemiology’s history and methods, to then concentrate on the social and cultural aspects of health. The course offers an in-depth exploration of the notion of disease causation, with historical and current examples. Disciplines included in the course include history, philosophy, bioethics, public health, anthropology, and sociology. We will explore ideas and behaviors related to disease causation in different societies and social groups. Topics include the history of epidemiology and theories of disease causation, research methods in epidemiology, social determinants of health, and the notions of disease causation and determination. Course material combines introductory readings, academic articles and films with the analysis of journalistic pieces addressing currently important issues. It also combines the study of cases in the United States with that of other countries. Class meetings will consist of lectures to introduce topics and concepts, and group discussions to apply the concepts and examine them critically. Students will also work on individual and group projects. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.
GERM 3940
Health, (Dis-)Ability and Well-Being in German-Speaking Cultures
About this Course
Taught in German. In this course, we will analyze health, (dis-)ability, and well-being as key concepts in cultural identity constructions, not only for the imagination of the nation as a ‘fit body’ (body politic), but also for the definition and exclusion of presumed disposable, disabled/disabling, and worthless ‘Others’. Analyzing various cultural materials, we will discuss the central role that health discourses played in the past (in European colonial ambition, in the establishment of democracies, in Nazi ideology and in socialist propaganda). We will also examine health(care) discussions in contemporary German-speaking cultures, focusing on topics such as healthcare systems, integration, women’s health, refugees, climate, and other current topics that students suggest. Finally, we will compare Western understanding of health with other, non-Western epistemologies, such as Indigenous definitions of well-being. Prerequisites: GERM 2005 or placement exam.
