Undergraduate Course: History of Medicine (STIS08012)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | ***THIS IS A REPLACEMENT COURSE FOR STIS08009 HISTORY OF WESTERN MEDICINE - STUDENTS MAY NOT ENROL ON BOTH COURSES***
An engaging introduction to the history of medicine over the last two thousand years. The course covers different ideas about health, healing and the human body and examines how medical knowledge is linked to power, authority, and justice. We use that history to introduce critical tools for thinking about the politics of science and medicine today. |
| Course description |
What is, and was, medicine? How and why have ideas about health, healing, and the human body changed over time? Who has medical expertise today, and how is that different to the past? This course offers a general introduction to the history of medicine over the last two thousand years. It uses that history to help students develop critical tools for thinking about the politics of science and medicine today.
We explore the changing faces of medical practice, and ask how medical authority has moved between nurses, doctors, philosophers, scientists, healers, midwives, and patients. We consider how concepts of gender, 'race', disability, and sexuality have been embedded in medicine, and how they have shaped healing practices. We discuss historical ideas of health and medicine in different parts of the world, and examine whether and when medicine has been colonial, and if it has ever been 'global'. Using the rich heritage here in Edinburgh, students develop methods of 'reading' histories embedded in objects, images, places, and films, and are encouraged to reflect on uses of history in their own disciplines and the wider world.
History of Medicine welcomes students from all colleges and schools, and is designed to support a variety of student backgrounds and learning goals. It is a free-standing, 20-credit, level 1 half course run by the Science, Technology and Innovation Studies subject group of the School of Social and Political Sciences. It is appropriately combined with History of Science (STIS08005), and does not presume any prior knowledge, either of history or of medicine.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
History of Western Medicine (STIS08009)
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Other requirements | THIS IS A REPLACEMENT COURSE FOR STIS08009 HISTORY OF WESTERN MEDICINE - STUDENTS MAY NOT ENROL ON BOTH COURSES |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
50% 2000-word essay responding to one of 4 questions
20% 500-word reflective writing, due at the end of week 4
30% 2 multiple choice quizzes, one in week 6 and one in week 11 (each counting for 15% of the overall mark). |
| Feedback |
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop critical tools for thinking historically about the politics, social relations, and organization of medical knowledge and practice.
- Discuss the diversity of ideas about health and illness, their causes and treatment, and the changing views of the body and of society that have prevailed in medicine in different places and historical periods
- Discuss how ideas about health and illness and the organisation of health care are informed by the wider social and cultural context in which they are articulated
- Critically evaluate the use of evidence (primary and secondary sources) in historical argument, and exercise basic essay-writing skills using secondary historical scholarship
- To recognise and critically engage with uses of history in different fields of study
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Reading List
| The course will have a dynamic reading list, balancing standard texts and books in the history of medicine with innovative scholarship. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge of key developments, issues and concepts in history of medicine.
Critical thinking and analytical skills.
Effective written and communication skills. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lukas Engelmann
Tel: (0131 6)50 6367
Email: Lukas.Engelmann@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ian McClory
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: Ian.McClory@ed.ac.uk |
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