Health Humanities Reader - Softcover

"[This book] consists of nearly 50 chapters, some of which deal with classic medical humanities topics, such as the notions of health and disease and the theory of the body. The majority of the book centers on more contemporary--some would say postmodern--issues, such as gender and sexuality, disability, and aging. Recommended."--Choice "This bold, intelligent, and vitally comprehensive collection is a truly interdisciplinary achievement and an indispensible resource.Through twelve judiciously selected thematic clusters, Rutgers's Health Humanities Reader consolidates this new subfield by capturing both the complexity and excitement of health humanities scholarship. An essential tool with practical applications both inside and outside the classroom."--Andrea Charise, PhD "assistant professor of health studies, University of Toronto, Scarborough " "It's about time! The field of medical humanities has been waiting for a reader, and this one is it. With an excellent array of essays in appropriate topics by top people in the field, this book should set the standard for the next ten years. It will prove fascinating to undergraduates, graduate students in both the humanities and the health sciences, and to the general public and particularly those who are or will be patients--which of course is everyone." --Lennard J. Davis "editor of The Disability Studies Reader " "This is a landmark volume that sets the standard for any future collection in medical/health humanities. It is by turns authoritative, funny, edgy, creative and personal--sometimes all in one piece." --Thomas R. Cole "Director, McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, University of Texas-Houston Medical School "

Over the past forty years, the health humanities, previously called the medical humanities, has emerged as one of the most exciting fields for interdisciplinary scholarship, advancing humanistic inquiry into bioethics, human rights, health care and the uses of technology. It has also helped inspire medical practitioners to engage in deeper reflection about the human elements of their practice. In Health Humanities Reader, editors Tess Jones, Delese Wear and Lester D. Friedman have assembled fifty-four leading scholars, educators, artists and clinicians to survey the rich body of work that has already emerged from the field - and to imagine fresh approaches to the health humanities in these original essays. The collection's contributors reflect the extraordinary diversity of the field, including scholars from the disciplines of disability studies, history, literature, nursing, religion, narrative medicine, philosophy, bioethics, medicine and the social sciences. With warmth and humour, critical acumen and ethical insight, Health Humanities Reader truly humanises the field of medicine. Its accessible language and broad scope offers something for everyone from the experienced medical professional to a reader interested in health and illness.