Student and Faculty Showcase

Students enrolled in Medical Humanities courses have abundant opportunities to create and display original work related to their studies. Through campus publications, coursework, and student-led service and pre-professional organizations, students explore and examine both the history of medicine as well as its continuing development. The products of their investigations in and out of the classroom express powerful insights and analyses across a range of topics, from pressing public health concerns to revolutions in art and social attitudes.

Congratulations to our brilliant graduates! Click here to watch a recording of the 2023 Medical Humanities Senior Recognition Ceremony.

Headline image: “The Metaphorical Virus” (May 2020) by Angela Chen is a visual representation of metaphors in the COVID-19 pandemic, where subjective judgments follow the objective virus in its shadows. Chen (Class of 2023) is a writer and illustrator for Frontiers and is majoring in biochemistry. 

Student Work Spotlight

Tarot Cards Remake: People's Four Responses to COVID

By Alice Xu, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Messbarger and Olynyk. "People’s four responses to COVID — extreme isolation, living a normal lifestyle, in-between the former two, and deepened human ties — respectively correspond to the meaning of four tarot cards “The Tower, The Devil, The Hanged Man, Death,” inspired by the four responses to the bubonic plague."

Humoral Fashion

By Seo-Eun Kim, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Olynyk and Messbarger. "Inspired by the four humors, this project brings galenic medicine and modern fashion together through a series of mood boards; viewers are therefore encouraged to extend empathy to ideologies of the past."

The Dichotomy of Over-the-Counter Medication and its Misuse

By Sydney Tran, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Messbarger and Olynyk. "This model showcases the polarity of over-the-counter medication: One day you reach down to use over-the-counter medication for its healing properties and the next you reach out suffering from the effects of misuse whether it be intentional or unintentional."

Pandemic Dress

By Rujula Polu, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Olynyk and Messbarger. "Pandemic Dress" examines the intersection of art and medicine through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrates its various socio-economic implications, focusing on the theme of loss."

Soulless Reflection

By Alan Moon and Varun Ramesh, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Messbarger and Olynyk. "Soulless Reflection is a heartfelt piece showcasing the injustice and prejudice faced by the LGTBQ community during the AIDS epidemic-and an exploration of the themes and art that arose from it."

Perspectives

By Chris Lee and Shelby Elliott, Class of 2026, for "The Art of Medicine" Medical Humanities Course, L85 MedH 130 (Fall 2022) taught by Profs. Olynyk and Messbarger. "Perspectives is a juxtaposition between the General Public and Healthcare Hemispheres during the Covid-19 Pandemic through the lens of two home-bound students observing their families’ responses to the contagion.”

Listen to their music here

Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Achievements in Medical Humanities

Irene Hamlin wins 2021 Stalker Award

The award is given annually to a graduating biology major whose undergraduate career combines outstanding scientific scholarship with significant contributions in the arts and humanities. Read more here.

A painting of a doctor with graying hair and an exposed skull.

Under the Skin

By Haley Pak, Class of 2023, for "The Art of Medicine" Beyond Boundaries Course, I60 Beyond 130 (Spring 2020). "I've always found it problematic that doctors are often perceived as cold overseeing machines, as it dehumanizes medical care into an elitist industry that cuts off patient to physician communication. Medicine must, above all, prioritize the fundamental physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of all people, including those who work in the industry."

Faculty Spotlight

Faculty for the Medical Humanities minor unite a variety of perspectives and backgrounds for a unique interdisciplinary learning experience. Courses for the Medical Humanities draw on expertise from departments such as Romance Languages, English, Philosophy, History, Art, Classics, African and African American Studies, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Beyond the College of Arts and Sciences, Medical Humanities faculty include affiliates with Bernard Becker Medical Library and the Center for the History of Medicine.

Geoff Ward is Professor of African and African-American Studies and Director of the WashU and Slavery Project. He is one of several faculty contributing to a new track in Medical Humanities on Medicine, Race and Ethnicity. See his interview in Ampersand on the Washington University's history with slavery.

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Center for Health Humanities Interview with Prof. Anya Plutynski: Safe or Sorry? Cancer Screening and Inductive Risk.