The module introduces students to a broad range of material and themes relevant to the history of health and medicine, highlighting changes and continuities in medical practice, theory and experience as well as in medical institutions, professions and in wider built and non-built environments. With its main focus on Britain and Western Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the module explores themes, such as diseases and pandemics; the invention of the patient; mental health and the asylum system; public health and health environments; the rise of the welfare state; health and the body; the relationship between medicine and war; sexuality; and colonialism. Students are encouraged to examine each theme through the significant dynamics of class, gender, race and disability and compare wide ranging historiographies with current debates in health and medicine today.
Private Study: 260
Contact Hours: 40
Total: 300
Main assessment methods
Written Assignment 1 Plan (250 Words) – 5%
Written Assignment 1 (1,500 words) – 25%
Short Exercise (750 words or equivalent) – 15%
Written Assignment 2 (1,500 words) – 25%
Thematic Timed Essay (2,000 words) – 30%
Reassessment methods
100% Coursework
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices.
The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Understand the broad sweep of medical history, and possess the skills needed to understand, evaluate, contextualise and communicate effectively their knowledge of history.
2 Demonstrate their intellectual interest in the history of medicine and their skills in researching historical subjects and in communicating their knowledge and ideas, using a variety of methods.
3 Engage with the underlying issues associated with medical history, and have an ability to evaluate and interpret these within their specific context.
4 Marshal an argument; summarise and defend a particular interpretation or analysis of historical events and challenge historiographical debates on the topic.
5 Examine and evaluate primary sources, whether texts or images, and understand their context, strengths and limitations, and value.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Consider critically relevant intellectual concepts as well as differences of opinion and interpretation amongst historians. Students will have developed their ability to identify and solve problems.
2 Work both independently and within groups. Students will have engaged in independent work, using library resources, and will have practised and improved their skills in time management, historical research, organisation and analysis of material, as well as written and verbal communication.
3 Communicate complex concepts effectively through written work. They will have acquired the ability to further develop skills they have already gained, which will be of use to them in future study or occupations.
4 Practise their improved communication and IT skills.
5 Present information creatively and accessibly.
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