Medicine and the Body (L4121)

15 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

On this module, you’ll examine the ideas on and treatment of the body in medicine. You’ll explore the ways they shape and are shaped by the today’s politics. You’ll study different areas of research, including:

sociological
feminist
queer
postcolonial
posthuman
nursing
bioethics.

Topics include:

the surveillance and commodification of bodies
the social impact of biomedical innovations, such as organ transplantation, and surgical interventions and enhancement
blame and responsibility for health states
approaches to treatment of mental health and disability
the diseased, distressed and dying body.

Teaching

100%: Practical (Workshop)

Assessment

30%: Coursework (Portfolio)
70%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 20 hours of contact time and about 130 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: