BACHELOR OF ARTS IN HEALTH HUMANITIES

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

The Humanities program produces graduates who can: 

a. Effectively gather data for interpretation and appraisal through looking, listening, and research, as grounded in the Humanistic disciplines of Literature and Language, Philosophy, History, and Art. This grounds the graduates’ capacity to recognize diversity and unity of disciplines in pursuit of wisdom, the synthesis of love of God and knowledge, faith and reason, culture and life.

b. Complementarily use the methods of the Humanistic disciplines in Interpreting, Analyzing, and Appraising the human person, human society, and culture, fostering openness, appreciation, and sensitivity for what is human.

c. Innovate and develop new ideas that meet the demands of the ever-changing socio-cultural landscape through the appreciation of how the different Humanistic disciplines are distinct and complementary to each other. This grounds the graduates as persons who are conversant, adaptable, and drawn to contribute to the upliftment of the human condition in the pursuit of the truth.

Health Humanities is a multidisciplinary course that sets the preparation for professions in the fields of medicine and healthcare on a humanistic foundation. As the Humanities expose students to the wealth of human pursuits and achievements, this course provides an excellent venue for students to esteem the deep significance of what it means to be human. This valuable mindset and disposition is what current practice in healthcare deem indispensable. After all, the beneficiaries of all healthcare practitioners are humans, persons who possess dignity, values, and the right to human flourishing and fulfillment. The UA&P Health Humanities Program provides its students with a distinct integral education which develops in them a whole-person perspective which will be their cutting edge as future professionals in the field of healthcare that is moving toward patient-centered care. 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Students who pursue a Health Humanities major or minor, along with required science courses outside the program, will be exceptionally well-prepared for admission to medical school or to other health science graduate programs. This program is also ideal for students who have an interest in law school, in earning a graduate degree in public health, or in pursuing an administrative career in the healthcare industry. Most of Health Humanities programs are in the UK notably in the University College London and  University of Nottingham. The recognized founder of Health Humanities is Prof. Paul Crawford (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/healthsciences/people/paul.crawford) and he is also very active in the International Health Humanities Network (http://www.healthhumanities.org/). 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS 

No other requirements for admission apart from the regular requirements

ACADEMIC LOAD

First YearFirst Sem23units
 Second Sem26units
Second YearFirst Sem21units
 Second Sem26units
 Midyear Term6units
Third YearFirst Sem22units
 Second Sem23units
Fourth YearFirst Sem21units
 Second Sem6units

STUDENT EVALUATION

Grading System for all ABHUM COURSES 

GradePointDescription
100-991.00Excellent
98-961.25Superior
95-931.50Very Good
92-901.75Good
89-872.00Satisfactory
86-842.25Sufficient
83-812.50Fair
80-below2.75Competent
77-753.00Pass
74-below3.50Fail

Courses Offered

  • FIRST YEAR – FIRST SEMESTER
    • HMA121 FILM
  • SECOND YEAR – FIRST SEMESTER
    • SCI118 GENERAL BIOLOGY
    • SCI118 GENERAL BIOLOGY (Lab)
  • SECOND YEAR – SECOND SEMESTER
    • HML221 LITERARY GENRES
    • HMH221 HISTORICAL RESEARCH
    • HHS211 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • SECOND YEAR – MIDYEAR
    • HMA232 MUSIC
    • HMA233 THEATRE
  • THIRD YEAR – FIRST SEMESTER
    • HML312 NOVEL
    • HMA314 ART IN THE HUMANISTIC TRADITION 1
    • HML314 LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM 1
    • HMP311 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 1
    • HMF311 LATIN 1
    • HML313 POETRY
    • SCI119 GENERAL CHEMISTRY
    • SCI119 GENERAL CHEMISTRY (Lab)
  • THIRD YEAR – SECOND SEMESTER
    • HMP323 METAPHYSICS
    • HMH323 PHILIPPINE HISTORIOGRAPHY
    • HMA325 ART IN THE HUMANISTIC TRADITION 2
    • HMP322 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 2
    • HMF322 LATIN 2
    • SCI121 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
    • SCI121L COMPARATIVE ANATOMY (LAB)
    • SCI122 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
  • FOURTH YEAR – FIRST SEMESTER
    • HMP414 WORK AND SOCIETY
    • HMA414 ART THEORY
    • HML416 THEORY OF THEORIES AND THE HUMANISTIC ENTERPRISE
    • HMP415 PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE
    • HMH416 SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
    • SCI120 GENERAL PHYSICS
    • SCI120 GENERAL PHYSICS (Lab)
  • FOURTH YEAR – SECOND SEMESTER 
    • HMHH101 BODILINESS
    • HMI421 HUM PRACTICUM
    • HUMP11 SPECIAL QUESTIONS IN BIOETHICS

Course Descriptions

FILM HMA121

Moving pictures are now permanent and ubiquitous parts of life. Much of the information and values that students receive are transmitted through the cinematic art, whether in the big screen of the movie theater or the small screen of mobile devices. This present situation urgently demands that students learn how to properly respond to the things that they watch on screen by developing the skill of critical watching. The course on cinema aims to produce students who have the ability to explain how their response to a narrative moving picture is influenced by its content and form, and to make appraisals of cinematic works that are based on the qualities of the work in question. To this end, students are trained in analyzing, interpreting and evaluating moving pictures in various recording and delivery formats. This is founded on a thorough knowledge of the elements of cinematic art and the skill of establishing the complex interrelations of the elements, with the story content and the viewing subject.

GENERAL BIOLOGY (LECTURE) SCI118

This course covers the principles and concepts in the study of life processes at the cellular and molecular levels. Specifically, it discusses cell structure and function, energy transfer, reproduction, genetics, evolution, diversity of organisms, and ecology.

GENERAL BIOLOGY (LABORATORY) SCI118

This course is the laboratory component and corequisite of SCI118. SCI118L consists of experiments and demonstrations that will enhance student learning. It tackles the basic techniques, safety practices in the laboratory, and the importance of scientific method by allowing students to conduct an independent research project. 

LITERARY GENRESHML221

This course mainly focuses on the different literary genres: poetry, drama, short story, and the novel, particularly how each came about, developed, and the many authors who popularized them. Representative works are taken up to illustrate each genre’s various inherent traits and their unique contributions to Literature.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH HMH221

This course is a general introduction to the discipline of History. The course serves as an introductory path for students seeking an in-depth immersion in the research methodologies, philosophies, perspectives, approaches, and issues encountered in the academic study of history. Given the availability of research materials and current familiarity, the course utilizes Philippine history as an area of discourse and enquiry for exercising the principles and discussions in the current scholarship. At the same time, the course serves as an immersion in professional scholarship in history.

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY HHS211

This is an introductory course on the scientific study of the mind and behavior. The course will tackle the following areas in the study of psychology: Research, Historical, Biological, Developmental Cognitive, and Socio-Emotional Foundations, and Personality. The course is designed to offer students a variety of learning experiences that aim to engage them in understanding human behavior. 

MUSIC HMA232

This course is a humanistic reflection on the music – the artwork, its artist and performer, and its audience. Focus is on the aesthetic interest that is generated when we articulate ourselves (and to other listeners) features of the music we hear in sounds. In the process of analyzing the structure of concrete music pieces, we are led to an understanding of music as the work of a tradition. 

THEATRE HMA233

The course introduces the student to the fundamental elements of a theatrical performance as found in Western and Philippine theatre traditions. The aim of the course is for the student to recognize theatre as a form of aesthetic expression as well as to distinguish the different arts that collaborate in a production. Analyses of dramatic literature, exposure to and analyses of local productions, as well as devising and staging theatrical pieces, provide the necessary practical framework for describing, interpreting and evaluating theatre as an art form.

NOVEL HML312

This course tackles the elements of the novel for the students to grasp the literary genre’s form. These novel elements are the following: character, setting, theme, and plot. Being aware of these elements should help the students internalize what a novel is, i.e., its distinguishing and similar characteristics to other kinds storytelling, and therefore facilitate their better appreciation and understanding of its insights. The study of these elements shall be pursued in the three (3) selected novels from different genres, e.g., social realism, fantasy/science fiction, and young adult. The novel genres are chosen based on their relevance in themes (history, theology, social commentary) and popularity in today’s world.

ART IN HUMANISTIC TRADITION 1 HMA314

Art in Humanistic Tradition 1 is a study of art as an expression of insights into the Humanistic Traditions of the West as represented in artforms with a focus on but not limited to painting, sculpture and architecture from Prehistoric to the Renaissance period. At the core of this course is a discussion of masterpieces which articulate the aesthetic canons and the values they signify in their original humanistic contexts, i.e., according to stories and Humanistic traditions of learning of the West as couched in the myths of the Ancient World and Classical civilizations, Christian learning of the Medieval ages, and the Humanism of the Renaissance following the trajectory of Western Art History. The course is comprised of 4 modules as follows: 1) The Humanistic Tradition of the Ancient World: Myths, Art and Architecture of Prehistoric, Ancient Near East and Egyptian Periods 2) The Humanistic Tradition of the Classical World: Myths, Art and Architecture of Greek and Roman Periods 3) The Humanistic Tradition of the Medieval: Christian Learning and Art and Architecture of the Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic Periods 4) The Humanistic Tradition of the Renaissance: Humanism, Art and Architecture of the Renaissance Period.

LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM 1 HML314

This course looks into different ways of critiquing literatures produced through the ages and compares such according to various approaches that have come to the fore.

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 1 HMP311

The course presents a framework for understanding some of the major philosophical trends in the West from the pre-Socratic era to the Modern Period. Emphasis will be given to the historical significance and genesis of ideas, as well as the continuity and discontinuity in the history of development of philosophical thought. The focus will be on the Western understanding of the human being and the world, which underlies the manner man relates with realities within and beyond its boundaries. Thus, one gains a more critical understanding of the historical events that shaped the Western social and cultural milieu and vice-versa. 

LATIN 1  HMF311

This course covers the beginning stages of learning Latin. It provides the basis for the student to develop reading and writing skills in Latin on his own. Of greater importance in the course is understanding the part that Latin played in the tradition of the humanities in Western Civilization. The course aims to contribute in a basic fashion for the student to be articulate in this tradition

POETRY HML313

This subject teaches students to read and interpret poetry. It assumes that a knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, which are fundamental to reading prose, are necessary but not sufficient for reading poetry. Reading poetry well requires a deliberate attention to language and a nimble imagination, skills which are only seldom required by prose. By developing in the student the reading required for a sophisticated enjoyment of poetry, this course plays a part in preparing the Humanities graduate for mastery of all texts no matter the genre. 

GENERAL CHEMISTRY (LECTURE) SCI119

This course covers the fundamental chemical concepts and principles governing chemical structure of matter (atomic structure, chemical bonding), chemical reactions (classification, stoichiometry, energetics), solutions, chemical kinetics and equilibria, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, and descriptive chemistry of metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. Students will learn how scientific knowledge is acquired, applied, and communicated, as they explore many of the key concepts central to the science of chemistry. The course will also provide insight into selected basic features of biochemistry. This will serve as a boost course for those aiming to major in health science, biology, and related courses.

GENERAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY) SCI119

This course is the laboratory component and corequisite of SCI119.  SCI119L introduces the students to the fundamental laboratory techniques and skills, basic chemical laboratory safety practices, performance of experiments to demonstrate some lecture topics, and preparation of laboratory reports. Course activities such as problem-solving and laboratory experiments are designed to help develop analytical and critical thinking skills and ultimately demonstrate the ability to design and carry out scientific inquiries or experiments independently or with a group and effectively analyze, interpret data and communicate scientific results through effective writing and oral communication skills.

METAPHYSICS HMP323

This course, following the understanding of what metaphysics is from the time of Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas up to the present, studies all of reality using the most radical perspective, that of being. It aims to examine and explain the ultimate structure of the universe and its first and fundamental cause. In other words, this course studies being as being or being as such in the light of the very ultimate cause and primary principles. Hence, the course is divided into two parts. First, it investigates the nature of being and the various categories of the dynamics of ‘esse’ or act of being: one, true, good, and beautiful. Second, it studies the cause of the act of being of all things – God, as Creator, the summit, first cause, and last end of being. The course also examines the persistent questions on the existence of God and the critical reasons that are foundational in addressing them. As a whole, the course offers a solid sapiential basis for shaping a coherent view of man, the world, and God.

PHILIPPINE HISTORIOGRAPHY HMH323

This course on Philippine historiography will look at the different ways of writing Philippine general history following different assumptions, perspectives, or theories by selected historians. For this course, the historiography of Gregorio Zaide, Teodoro Agoncillo, Renato Constantino, Zeus Salazar, Onofre D. Corpuz, and Jose Arcilla will be compared. Also, specific sub-disciplines in history will be studied through works written by Filipino and foreign authors: local history, oral history, history of the arts, social history, economic history, and history of Philippine institutions.

ART IN HUMANISTIC TRADITION 2 HMA325

A course on Arts in the Humanistic Tradition II introduces humankind’s cultural legacy through the arts, located along the intersections of ideas in literature and philosophy, as well as the social and historical transformations across ages that have shaped the world. Significant works across art forms by key artists in the canon serve as our primary objects of inquiry and were selected for their beauty and enduring value. Students in this course will examine key artworks from the Baroque Age until the contemporary period.

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 2 HMP322

This course studies the different philosophical movements of the 20th century up to the contemporary period, particularly focusing on existentialism, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, language philosophy, hermeneutics and post-modernism.  This course takes note of prominent figures of each movement and discusses their main contributions to the development of thought.

LATIN 2 HMF322

There is perhaps no other language from the ancient world that can claim as much influence as Latin in today’s languages and cultures. As the language of the Roman Empire and, later, of the Roman Catholic Church, Latin has helped to spread a culture that even to this day remains to “play an important role in the continuing saga of Western civilization” (Spielvogel 114) and, indeed, with the advent of technology, to influence the rest of the world. Latin continues to influence education, literature, law (Perry 168), philosophy, religion, and science (Freidell 349).

This one-semester continuation of the introductory course to this so-called “lingua mundi” (or “language of the world,” for once it was spoken by the entire civilized Western world), builds up on the previous semester’s “First Experience.” The interested students will continue where they left off in Latin 101 and learn the more advanced elements of the Latin language. They will continue to be exposed to a sampling of Latin’s rich literature, from classical times to the present. True to both the University’s liberal arts focus and its Christian ethos, this course will attempt – despite the very limited time allotted to it – to synthesize the best of what Latin has to offer. 

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY (LECTURE) SCI121

This course examines the basic patterns, phylogenetic, and evolutionary relationships of vertebrate structures with a primary focus on structure-function relationships. Students are given an insight of how similar or dissimilar vertebrates are.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY (LABORATORY) SCI121L

This course is the laboratory component and corequisite of SCI121.  SCI121L tackles the functional and comparative morphology of the various classes of vertebrates. The study of major vertebrate organ systems is augmented with an opportunity to dissect selected animal specimens.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY SCI122

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the function and regulation of the human body and physiological integration of the organ systems to maintain homeostasis. It covers the basic concepts of cells and tissues, the different organ systems (integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic / immune, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems), and how these organ systems function and interact with each other. The students will engage in the analysis and application of these concepts in some real-life situations as they obtain a basic understanding of physiological adaptations to special circumstances and certain disease mechanisms that influence the human body.  

WORK AND SOCIETY HMP414

HMP 414 is a philosophical study of work in the light of its anthropological, sociological and ethical dimensions. This course seeks to highlight the relevance of work as a human activity, contributing thus to the development of the worker, co-workers, culture and society. The ethical dimensions treated here are focused on the individual worker’s personal development as worker regardless of specialization and therefore applicable to any given job a worker may have at any given time.”

ART THEORY HMA414

A course on Art Theory is an introduction to key ideas on art across the different forms. The readings selected for the course introduce theories on the Visual and Performing Arts. The course helps students take an analytical and critical stance as they compare the strengths and limitations of theories on Art. Illustrative rather than exhaustive, the selected readings introduce questions on the nature of art. The course also is designed to equip the students with enough competencies and wisdom to develop a standard of beauty based on intrinsic excellence and a view of art as a form of leisure that enables the human being to understand the self and others.

THEORY OF THEORIES AND THE HUMANISTIC ENTERPRISE HML416

The course studies the history of aesthetic criticism from the Enlightenment to contemporary times. By aesthetic criticism is meant criticism in the fine arts (architecture, painting, sculpture, music, dance, poetry, theater, film, and prose fiction). Various critical theories are likewise studied from the idea of the art object as object of contemplation during the eighteenth century to the political readings of art objects in the late twentieth century.

PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE HMP415

This course studies the fundamental elements of philosophical schools of thought and worldviews, with the aim of understanding methods of inquiry that distinguish philosophy from the rest of the sciences.

SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY HMH416

This course is a general introduction to sources for Philippine history. It familiarizes students with the nature and types of primary and secondary sources as building blocks of history as a discipline. Given the peculiar situation this school year, it focuses on digital sources which students learn how to search for and extract from digital repositories available online. They will analyze, evaluate and synthesize textual and non-textual material as historiographical sources not only to be able to read historical works critically but also to create new knowledge. In this research-driven course, students will have the opportunity to work individually and collaborate with each other on small projects that they will also present in class and communicate to a wider public. Underlying this historiographical activity is the search for historical truth on which students will be encouraged to reflect.

GENERAL PHYSICS (LECTURE) SCI120

This algebra-based introductory course includes a review of mathematical concepts and vectors, and covers topics such as kinematics, forces and Newton’s Laws, circular motion, energy, impulse and momentum, waves, temperature and heat, electricity, magnetism and light.

GENERAL PHYSICS (LABORATORY)SCI120L

This course is the laboratory component and corequisite of SCI120.  SCI120L includes basic laboratory safety, performance of experiments to clarify or demonstrate certain fundamental concepts and principles in the lecture, and preparation of laboratory reports.

BODILINESS HMHH101

This course studies the body by affirming the truth about the human person as a unified whole – a composite of body and soul.  This course also pays particular attention to the body as a lived body, focusing on its intentionality, plasticity, meaning and purpose.  This course also talks about the dignity of the body and the issues which surround it.

SPECIAL QUESTIONS IN BIOETHICS HUMP11

This course consists in lectures/seminars that bring to philosophical discussion some critical ethical questions of the day, including bioethical issues, valuable in advancing moral sensibility.

HUM PRACTICUM HMI421

The Humanities Practicum is a venue for students to apply what they have learned in their classes, by immersing themselves in work environments related to the Humanities. By the term, students should be able to apply the lessons from class to current developments in their chosen place of internship.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

No other requirements for GRADUATION apart from the regular requirements

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THE CURRICULUM

In their first three semesters the students take up subjects like FilmMusic, and Theatre for Art; Literary GenresNovel, and Poetry for Literature; Historical Research for History; and Metaphysics for Philosophy. These subjects they take are designed to help them familiarize with the field of the Humanities as well as to prepare them for the foundation subjects which, in turn, prepare the students for proficiency in the Humanistic disciplines of Art, Literature, History, and Philosophy.

Central to the curriculum of the Humanities Program are the foundation subjects of Art in the Humanistic TraditionLiterary Theory and CriticismHistoriography, and History of Philosophy. Each of these subjects is delivered through two semesters to solidify the students’ grounding in the tradition and methods in the different humanistic fields. As the students take the foundation subjects side by side, they are invited to see the parallelisms and complementarity of these disciplines.

During their third year of their majors, the students  are then trained and challenged to synthesize what they have learned so far through the subjects of Art TheoryWork and SocietyPhilosophical DiscourseSources in Philippine History and Theory of Theories and the Humanistic Enterprise, culminating with the Humanities Practicum, wherein the students are tasked to apply what they have learned in the workplace.

For students pursuing the M.A. Hum Program, central to their last three semesters are the Thesis Writing Subjects: Research Methodology as well as Thesis Writing 1 & 2. Alongside thesis writing, the M.A. students take other Humanities subjects that are geared towards complementing their thesis project, through this, the students are prepared for their mastery of the humanistic disciplines.

For the Creative Writing Pathway, students complement their Humanities subjects with Creative Writing subjects like Writing DramaWriting Narratives, and Writing Poetry, as well as Principles of Pre-WritingPrinciples of Rewriting, and Portfolio Building. These Creative Writing subjects will replace some of the Humanities subjects of the general AB Program so as to provide a contextualized focus on how the Humanistic disciplines enhance the craft of Creative Writing.