How the course works
Each week we explore a theme related to the life course through the lens of the medical humanities. Our aim is to understand how different perspectives - from the arts, social sciences and biological sciences - can contribute to an understanding of humanising healthcare in clinical settings.
We invite guest speakers to speak around these themes from their own perspectives as artists, social scientists and doctors; and encourage you to share your own thoughts with us and your fellow learners. To help the conversation along, we offer questions for discussion, quizzes for you to recap the key concepts and mini assignments which will be reviewed by other learners taking the course.
We strongly encourage you to engage with the interactive components of the course which give you an opportunity to reflect on some of your own beliefs as well as engage with the other learners.
At the end of each week, we provide a reading list which is completely optional - so feel free to read the resources that interest you the most.
You’ll meet the following individuals during this course. Through discussions we facilitate, they will share their own perspective around one particular topic.
| Professor Johan Brink | Cardiothoracic surgeon and director of clinical services in the Chris Barnard division of cardiothoracic surgery, UCT |
| Dr Peter Anderson | Poet and senior lecturer of English literature, UCT |
| Mr Stan Henkeman | Heart transplant recipient and head of the Building an Inclusive Society Programme, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (an NGO) |
| Dr Marc Hendricks | Paediatric oncologist and musician, UCT |
| Dr Kate Abney | Medical anthropologist, UCT |
| Ms Nina Callaghan | Assistant director, Children’s Radio Foundation |
| Professor Elelwani Ramugondo | Occupational therapist, UCT |
| Professor Mark Solms | Professor of neuropsychology, UCT |
| Ms Malika Ndlovu | Applied artist, Art on Site |
| Professor Alireza Baghai-Wadji | Engineer interested in design thinking and metacognition, UCT |
| Dr Francois Bonnici | Medical doctor and adjunct professor at the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, UCT Graduate School of Business |
| Professor Silke Dyer | Gynaecologist and fertility specialist, UCT |
| Dr Sean Baumann | Psychiatrist |
| Dr Finuala Dowling | South African poet and author |
| Professor Deborah Posel | Sociologist and director of Institute for Humanities in Africa, UCT |
| Ms Kathryn Smith | Artist, Liverpool John Moores University and Stellenbosch University |
| Professor Lorna Martin | Pathologist and head of Division of Forensic Medicine, UCT |
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