STS 4412

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - September 22, 2025 1:06PM EDT

STS 4412
Conceptions of the Body in Medicine and Healing

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

The working of the human body is a universal phenomenon, yet different medical traditions have vastly different conceptions of what a body is. How can something so intimate and tangible like the body be understood so contrastingly in medicine across the world? With examples from classical Greek and ancient Chinese medicine to contemporary practices in biomedicine, Ayurveda, Unani and others, the course questions the everyday, taken for granted assumptions like the distinction between mind and the body, or what counts as a healthy body. It then explores how these multiple perceptions of the body in medicine are often culturally informed and are deeply linked with experiences of personhood and identity.


Distribution Requirements (D-AG, KCM-AG), (ETM-AS, SCD-AS)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2023FA, 2022FA

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 4412

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  7739 STS 4412   SEM 101

  •  
    • T
    • Jan 20 - May 5, 2026

    • Chaudhuri, A

  • Instruction Mode: In Person