The program is designed for undergraduate students who have a strong interest in obtaining a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the study of health and illness within and across communities worldwide. While biomedicine focuses primarily on the causes, diagnoses, and treatments of diseases, this minor prompts students to consider the political economic and global historical forces, the social meanings and structures, and the relations of power that shape health and illness experiences among people, families, and communities, as well as their clinicians and caregivers in diverse contexts.

The interdisciplinary study of global health involves questioning how globalization affects patterns of disease across space and time. It offers students a framework for investigating how and why the distribution and burden of disease disproportionally falls upon poor countries and vulnerable communities. The minor’s humanistic lens allows students to consider how personal narratives, as well as their distinct linguistic and cultural meanings, apply to pressing public health and social care concerns.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Foundations of Global Health & Medical Humanities Coursework		3
GEOG 201/GIST 210/AAAS 203	Culture and Health
GEOG 202/GIST 211/AAAS 204	Culture and Health, Honors
Electives Coursework		15
Choose courses from a minimum of three of the following categories
Health and Wellbeing across Languages, Cultures, and Geographies
CLSX 332	Medical Terminology: Greek and Latin Roots
GEOG 205	Disaster, Disease, and Mapping
HIST 337	History, Ethics, Modernity
Health in Humanistic Perspective
HIST 332/AMS 323/WGSS 311/HUM 332	Sex in History
HIST/WGSS 324	History of Women and the Body
PHIL 370	Moral Issues in Medicine
Public Health Theories, Methods, Principles, and Practices
EVRN/HSCI 445	Introduction to Environmental Health
HSCI 340	Introduction to Public Health
HSCI 440	Introduction to Epidemiology
HSCI 441	Population Health
SOC 425	Sociology of Global Health
Politics of Health, Healthcare, and Social Change in Local and Global Perspective
ABSC 310	Building Healthy Communities
or ABSC 311	Building Healthy Communities, Honors
EVRN/POLS 528	Environmental Justice and Public Policy
HMGT 305	Health Policy and Healthcare Systems
SOC 424	Sociology of Health and Medicine
WGSS/GIST 355	International Women's Rights

Minor Hours

Satisfied by at least 18 hours of minor courses.

Minor Hours in Residence

Satisfied by a minimum of 9 hours of junior/senior (300+) hours completed at KU.

Minor Junior/Senior (300+) Hours

Satisfied by a minimum of 12 hours from courses numbered 300 or higher in the minor.

Minor Graduation GPA

Satisfied by a minimum of a 2.00 GPA in all minor courses. GPA calculations include all courses in the field of study, included F's and repeated courses.