INSH 1300 — Introduction to Health and Humanities
4 semester hoursUndergraduateLectureNUpath ICusually offered: fall, springBostonTraditional
Explores the ways in which narrative and other forms of creative and cultural expression help shape conceptions of illness, healing, and the body. Offers students opportunities to consider the health and humanities through a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives and genres. Includes small-group and classwide experiential field outings. Culminates in the composition of reflective responses, a medical ethics/medical journalism piece, and a team-based experiential e-portfolio project. Course objectives include differentiating between healing and curing; knowing how to elicit, listen to, and analyze stories to determine how participants in the healthcare system experience illness and healing; being able to articulate the ways health is a cultural construct; and using this analysis to identify an empathic response as a future professional.
Offering history
| Term | Sections | Enrolled | Capacity | Full | Open seats/section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2023 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 60% | 4.0 |
| Fall 2024 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 90% | 1.0 |
| Spring 2025 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 80% | 1.0 |
| Fall 2025 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 93% | 1.0 |
| Spring 2026 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 100% | 0.0 |
Snapshots from scheduled scrapes — not live seat availability. "Full" can exceed 100% when sections over-enroll.
Meeting times
Share of recent sections by weekday: M 31% · T 31% · W 29% · Th 40% · F 0%
Common patterns: T (31% of sections), MR (31% of sections), W (29% of sections), R (8% of sections) — in patterns, R means Thursday
Professors
Fall
- Christopher Parsons (100% of students) · reviews
Spring
- Christopher Parsons (100% of students) · reviews
Percentages are each professor's average share of the season's enrolled students in recent terms.
Links
Official catalog (INSH course descriptions) · Student reviews on RateMyHusky · All INSH courses · Plan it at numap.app