Programs and Centers
Program in Health Humanities and Social Sciences
The program in Health Humanities and Social Sciences (HHumSS) Program brings together clinicians, scholars, educators, and practitioners where the arts, humanities and social sciences intersect with embodiment, cognition, patient experiences and healthcare. This includes medical anthropology, history and sociology as well as narrative medicine, literature and medicine, spirituality and artistic expression inspired by and for patients, caregivers, and the human condition. In addition to the standing initiatives listed below, the HHumSS program also sponsors research, exhibits, film viewings and performances.
Health Humanities and Social Sciences Seminars
HHumSS hosts quarterly seminars focused on scholarship and pedagogical advancement in the health humanities and social sciences. See the Institute for Bioethics calendar for a full schedule of HHumSS seminars.
C. F. Reynolds Medical History Society
The C. F. Reynolds Medical History Society is Southwest Pennsylvania’s premier organization for the appreciation of the history of medicine, nursing, public health and related fields and has been offering free public lectures since 1975. HHumSS provides support and marketing for the society’s online sessions. Find more information at the Society website.
Artistic Journal: The Canary
The Canary is an online journal that publishes poetry, short stories and nonfiction, to brings the voices of patients and health care providers to life. Several core faculty of the Institute for Bioethics serve as creative staff and editors for the journal. The Canary's annual submission deadline is in December. Learn more about the journal at its website.
Learn more about The Canary
The School of Medicine Humanities Thread
The Institute for Bioethics works with the Pitt School of Medicine Curriculum Committee to review the humanities content across all four years of medical education. Together, we identify opportunities to use historical examples, creative writing, textual analysis, patient narratives and other modalities to teach empathy, guard against burnout, and ensure every School of Medicine graduate leaves with an understanding of how modern health care ended up here and where they are going as the physicians of the future.
Health Humanities Certificate
Through the Health Humanities Certificate, undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh may pursue an individualized course of study of the sociocultural context and historical foundations of health care through core courses, thematically clustered electives and a capstone seminar. Learn more about this Certificate program here.