Health Humanities: Indian and Western Medical Knowledge Traditions

By Prof Pravin K Patel | Banaras Hindu University

Learners enrolled: 494 | Exam registration: 72

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course explores the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and medicine within Indian and Western knowledge traditions. It examines health, illness, and well-being in various social, cultural, historical, and political contexts. Today, the pressing issues of illness, disease, depression, trauma, disability, and ageing demand our attention and exploration through the lenses of the humanities and social sciences across knowledge traditions. It examines fictional and nonfictional texts illuminating specific illnesses and diseases, inviting critical engagement and reflection on the essential topics for twelve weeks. Join us to deepen your understanding and contribute to meaningful conversations that can transform lives.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG and PG students in English for comprehensive study. This course will also help PhD students researching in this field.

PREREQUISITES: Anyone interested in studying representation of illness, disease, ageing, trauma, disability and healing in literature, culture and arts.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Psychological Wellness Centers, Mental Illness Therapy Centers, etc.

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	04 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	22 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	24 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 7.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to Health Humanities

Week 2: Critical History of Medicine

Week 3: Health Humanities and Indian Knowledge Traditions

Week 4: Health Humanities and Western Knowledge Traditions

Week 5: Health Humanities, Trauma and Literature

Week 6: Health Humanities, Mental Health and Literature

Week 7: Health Humanities, Ageing and Literature

Week 8: Health Humanities, Disability and Literature

Week 9: Health Humanities, Gender and Medical Practice

Week 10: Health Humanities, Planetarity and Literature

Week 11: Comparing Indian and Western Medical Knowledge Traditions

Week 12: Conclusion: The Future of Healthcare

Books and references

Bolaki, Stella. Illness as Many Narratives: Arts, Medicine and Culture. Edinburgh University Press, 2016.
Carel, Havi. Phenomenology of Illness. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Craford, Paul et al. 2015. Health Humanities. New York:Palgrave.
Davis. Lennard J. 2017. Disability Studies Reader. Fifth Edition. London: Routledge
Foucault, Michel. Birth of the Clinic. Routledge, 2003.
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.Vintage House Edition, 1977.
Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in theAge of Reason. Vintage Books Edition. 1988.
The History of Sexuality (Volume I: An Introduction).Translated by Robert Hurley. Pantheon Books, 1978.
Frank, Arthur. The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness andEthics. The University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Hawkins, Anne Hunsaker. Reconstructing Illness: Studiesin Pathography.
Kumar Deepak (Ed). Disease and Medicine in India. NewDelhi: Tulika Books, 2001
Samiksha, Sehrawat. Colonial Medical Care in NorthIndia. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Whitehead, Ann (Ed). 2026. Edinburgh Companion ofCritical Medical Humanities. Edinburgh: EdinburghUniversity Press.
Zysk, Kenneth G. Asceticism and Healing in Ancient India. New Delhi:Motilal Banarasidas, 1991.

Instructor bio

Prof Pravin K Patel

Banaras Hindu University

Prof. Pravin K Patel is Assistant Professor of English at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. Before joining BHU, he taught at taught at the Department of English, Central University of Karnataka in 2024-15. He received his PhD on “Deconstructing Logocentric Structures of History and Narrative in Ian McEwan's Fiction” from The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Presently, present research projects are “Health Humanities: Narrative, Health and Social Justice in India” and “Consciousness and Bioethics in Contemporary Neuro-Prosthetic Fiction”. His latest co-edited book, The Hero and Hero-making Across Genre is published by Routledge in 2022. He has published papers on Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, J Hillis Miller, Ian McEwan, Globalization, Postcolonialism, Pedagogy, Trauma Narratives, Age Studies and Medical Humanities.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 24 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team