Science in Human Culture
The Science in Human Culture Program prepares students to confront the global impact of science, medicine, and technology on society—and on their own lives. The adjunct major and the minor welcome humanities, social science, and science majors, including premedical students, wishing to surmount modern science’s compartmentalization of knowledge. Courses bridge the sciences and the humanities and seek to foster critical thinking about the limits, authority, and impact of science, a mode of understanding and intervening that is often said to be the defining feature of modern culture.
For an up-to-date listing of courses and more information about the adjunct major and minor, consult the program website. Questions may be directed to the program administrator at shc-program@northwestern.edu.
Themes and Eligible Courses
Some of the themes adopted by students have included medicine and society; science, environment, and society; technology and social change; science and gender; religion and scientific knowledge; and philosophy of science. For example, students interested in medicine and society might explore the interaction of medical knowledge and practice, medical ethics, and the boundaries between sickness and health. Topics addressed might include the authority of the physician, the role of the hospital, the social dimensions of racial and gender differences, and the changing conception of disease and healing.
Eligible courses include (when offered) the list below. Many other eligible courses are offered periodically and appear in the online quarterly class list posted on the program website.
Anthropology
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| ANTHRO 315-0 | Medical Anthropology |
| ANTHRO 332-0 | The Anthropology of Reproduction |
| ANTHRO 334-0 | The Anthropology of HIV/AIDS: Ethnographies |
| ANTHRO 343-0 | Anthropology of Race |
| ANTHRO 383-0 | Environmental Anthropology |
Communication Studies
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| COMM_ST 227-0 | Communication & Technology |
| COMM_ST 246-0 | Intro to Health Communication |
| COMM_ST 351-0 | Technology & Human Interaction |
| COMM_ST 353-0 | Collaboration Technology |
| COMM_ST 378-0 | Online Communities and Crowds |
| COMM_ST 383-0 | Media, Communication, and Environment |
| COMM_ST 386-0 | Science, Technology, and Society |
| COMM_ST 388-0 | Internet and Society |
Economics
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| ECON 307-0 | Economics of Medical Care |
| ECON 318-0 | History of Economic Thought |
| ECON 323-1 | Economic History of the United States Before 1865 |
| ECON 323-2 | Economic History of the United States 1865 to Present |
Environmental Policy and Culture
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| ENVR_POL 211-0 | Food and Society: An Introduction |
| ENVR_POL 212-0 | Environment and Society |
| ENVR_POL 309-0 | American Environmental History |
| ENVR_POL 311-0 | Food, Politics and Society |
| ENVR_POL 336-0 | The Climate Crisis, Policies, and Society |
| ENVR_POL 340-0 | Global Environments and World History |
Global Health
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| GBL_HLTH 201-0 | Introduction to Global Health |
| GBL_HLTH 302-0 | Global Bioethics |
| GBL_HLTH 306-0 | Biomedicine and Culture |
| GBL_HLTH 307-0 | International Perspectives on Mental Health |
| GBL_HLTH 309-0 | Biomedicine and World History |
Gender Studies
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| GNDR_ST 232-0 | Sexuality and Society |
| GNDR_ST 250-0 | Gender Issues in Science and Health |
| GNDR_ST 332-0 | Gender, Sexuality, and Health |
| GNDR_ST 374-0 | Gender, Sexuality, and Digital Technologies |
History
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HISTORY 251-0 | The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History |
| HISTORY 275-1 | History of Early Modern Science and Medicine |
| HISTORY 275-2 | History of Modern Science and Medicine |
| HISTORY 325-0 | History of American Technology |
| HISTORY 376-0 | Global Environments and World History |
| HISTORY 378-0 | History of Law and Science |
| HISTORY 379-0 | Biomedicine and World History |
Humanities
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HUM 220-0 | Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society |
Journalism
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| JOUR 383-0 | Health and Science Reporting |
Philosophy
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| PHIL 151-0 | Scientific Reasoning |
| PHIL 254-0 | Introduction to Philosophy of the Natural Sciences |
| PHIL 268-0 | Ethics and the Environment |
| PHIL 269-0 | Bioethics |
| PHIL 275-0 | Climate Change and Sustainability: Ethical Dimensions |
| PHIL 326-0 | Topics in Philosophy of Medicine |
| PHIL 352-0 | Philosophy of Mathematics |
| PHIL 355-0 | Scientific Method in the Social Sciences |
Political Science
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| POLI_SCI 329-0 | U.S. Environmental Politics |
| POLI_SCI 349-0 | International Environmental Politics |
Psychology
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| PSYCH 248-0 | Health Psychology |
| PSYCH 340-0 | Psychology and Law |
Religious Studies
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| RELIGION 173-0 | Religion, Medicine & Suffering in the West |
| RELIGION 373-0 | Religion and Bioethics |
Sociology
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| SOCIOL 211-0 | Food and Society: An Introduction |
| SOCIOL 212-0 | Environment and Society |
| SOCIOL 220-0 | Health, Biomedicine, Culture, and Society |
| SOCIOL 232-0 | Sexuality and Society |
| SOCIOL 305-0 | Population Dynamics |
| SOCIOL 311-0 | Food, Politics and Society |
| SOCIOL 319-0 | Sociology of Science |
| SOCIOL 321-0 | Numbers, Identity & Modernity: How Calculation Shapes Who We Are & What We Know |
| SOCIOL 336-0 | The Climate Crisis, Policies, and Society |
SHC 101-7 College Seminar (1 Unit) Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and introducing skills necessary to thriving at Northwestern. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.
SHC 101-8 First-Year Writing Seminar (1 Unit) Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and focused on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.
SHC 398-1 Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar (1 Unit) For students who wish to qualify for honors by writing a senior thesis.
SHC 398-2 Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar (1 Unit) For students who wish to qualify for honors by writing a senior thesis.
SHC 398-3 Science in Human Culture Senior Seminar (1 Unit) For students who wish to qualify for honors by writing a senior thesis.