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HUM321 I Feel Your Pain: Illness and Empathy in the Arts

• Department Humanities
• Level Upper
• Format Online
• Credits 3

Description

This course explores what happens when people become ill and how their experience of the care they receive from medical practitioners can affect and change their lives, for better or for worse. We look at current Western practices surrounding end-of-life care, the processing and acknowledgment of grief, and the tendency to deny our very mortality. We witness what people in stigmatized groups undergo when they seek medical treatment. And we confront what happens when a person, either ill or well, decides to end their life on their own terms. Throughout all of these explorations, we examine why empathy is crucial to both giving and receiving good care and how exposing ourselves to the arts can help foster empathy skills in those of us who live with, care for, and support the ill and dying.

View Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites

This course does not require any prerequisites.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)

To be designated as a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course, all instructional materials will be provided at no cost to students. These may include Open Educational Resources (OER), free materials, or library resources. Check your syllabus for more information.

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