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Health Humanities Minor

15-credit interdisciplinary minor, administered by History

For information, contact hhum@hawaii.edu

Welcome to the Health Humanities minor (HHUM)! This 15-credit, interdisciplinary program trains students to better understand the history, cultural meaning, and social impact of disease in Hawai’i and worldwide.

Studying health humanities can help students succeed in health-focused careers and academic paths, including medicine and nursing. The Association of American Medical Colleges stresses the importance of humanities education as “playing a unique and unrealized role in preparing and equipping physicians for 21st-century challenges” (AAMC 2020). 

The humanities use qualitative, analytical, and creative methods to better understand health and disease. Students who take health humanities courses are introduced to new ways of thinking about medicine and disease from cultural, social, and historical perspectives. This starts by building skills of close observation, communication, and contextual analysis. Our interdisciplinary courses build understanding of historical and cultural experience, inclusive of ʻike Hawai‘i, Oceanic traditions and contexts, and Asian studies. Taken together, this program supports mindful and holistic approaches to health education.

Program Description

The Health Humanities interdisciplinary minor is for students who wish to learn about important issues related to health and disease in historical, social, cultural, and political contexts. Students interested in a minor in Health Humanities must contact a History undergraduate advisor to schedule an advising session.

After completing the Health Humanities minor, students will be able to:

  • Identify diverse global examples of the experience and treatment of disease
  • Describe ways that healthcare, health, and disease reflect historical, social, and cultural contexts
  • Utilize humanities methodologies to analyze health and healthcare issues and problems
  • Demonstrate skills in perspective-taking, qualitative description, and communication

Admissions

Students must take one of the following courses and earn a grade of C (not C-) or better:

  • HIST 156: World History of Human Disease
  • HIST 157/SUST 157: Global Environmental History

The foundation course can be waived for transfer students, or other students who have an approved substitute, by the History undergraduate advisor.

Requirements

  • 15 credits of approved upper-division (300- or 400-level) courses, including one History course and courses from at least two other subject areas (minimum three fields total). 
  • A minimum of 6 credits must be earned at UH Mānoa. 
  • One upper-division course not on the course list can be substituted with approval by a History undergraduate advisor, who may also waive the foundation course for transfer students or other students who have an approved substitute. 
  • All courses must be completed with a grade of C (not C-) or better.

Health Humanities courses will appear under the HHUM program code from Fall 2026 onward. Courses marked with asterisks require prerequisites. Students can request overrides directly from the instructors if needed.

  • AMST 437 / WGSS 493: Trans Studies
  • ANTH 301: Culture and Health
  • ANTH 375: Race and Human Variation **
  • ANTH 427: Food, Health, and Society **
  • ART 484 / SUST 484: Contemporary Art and Ecology **
  • ASAN 494: Food, Culture, and Politics in Asia
  • COA 305 / IS 305: Ethics, Aging & Society
  • DIS 380: Foundations in Disability and Diversity
  • DIS 383: Disability History and Culture
  • ENG 382 / WGSS 381: Gender, Sexuality and Literature **
  • ES 391 / WGSS 371: Oceanic Gender, Sexual, and Kinship Identities **
  • HIST 362: Gender and Sexuality in the Classical World **
  • HIST 366: Women in Oceania
  • HIST 368: Global History of Sport
  • HIST 426: History of Japanese Cuisine and Foodways
  • HIST 482: Histories of Oceania II
  • HIST 484: The Hawaiian Kingdom 1819–1893
  • HWST 385: La‘au Lapa‘au: Ho‘i Ka Mana i Loko **
  • IP 375: Philippine Games, Sports and Martial Arts
  • PH 305: Native Hawaiian Health Determinants **
  • PH 425: Tobacco & Community Disparities. Pre: PH 201.
  • PH 435 / COA 435 / SW 435: Back to the Future: Aging in Today’s Society **
  • PHIL 310: Ethics in Healthcare **
  • PHIL 314: Critical Thinking: Pre-Medicine **
  • PHIL 321: Bodies, Minds, and Selves **
  • PHIL 324: Philosophy of Disability
  • POLS 301: Hawaii Politics **
  • POLS 324 / SUST 324: Global Environmental Politics
  • POLS 367: Disability Law & Politics **
  • REL 394 / COA 394: On Death and Dying
  • REL 431: Health/Medicine in Religion
  • THEA 360: Performance and Medicine
  • WGSS 438 / PHIL 438: Gender and Environmental Philosophy **