Learning objectives
To acquire an adequate knowledge of the evolution of the fundamental concpets of Weatern medicine;
to acquire the ability of understanding and analysing literary and critical texts (I Dublin descriptor).
To acquire the ability of applying the analytical tools acquired during the course to contemporary medical and scientific discourse;
To learn how to write a brief essay on historical-scientific topics (II Dublin descriptor).
To acquire the ability of arguing and communicating about the historical-scientific concepts examined during the course, and of developing them autonomously (III, IV, V Dublin descriptors).
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
Medicine and literature in the Western culture. The course will focus on the ideas about health and disease, the human body, the relationship between doctor and patient, and the role of medicine in society from the antiquity to the present. These topics will be discussed through the reading of some representative literary works of the Western tradition.
Full programme
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Bibliography
R. Porter, Breve ma veridica storia della medicina occidentale, Roma, Carocci, 2004 and 2011.
Further texts will be assigned at the beginning of the course.
Teaching methods
The course will be in the form of seminar lectures, in which texts (also in English) will be discussed collectively. Each week the students have to prepare the assigned readings, as to be ready to class discussion.
Assessment methods and criteria
Evaluation consists of two parts:
- the writing of a short essay on one of the concepts or texts dealt with during the course;
- an oral exam, in which the contents of the course and the student’s essay are discussed.
The final score will be determined by the assessment of the written essay (in terms of content, formal structure and argumentation) and of the oral discussion (in terms of student’s acquired knowledge and ability of communicating and contextualising problems). The quality of the student’s participation at class discussion will also be evaluated.
Other information
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