Research

two women finger painting, img credit UCL ISD Digital Media

The Health Humanities Centre explores how methods from the humanities and social sciences may be brought to bear on the study of biomedicine, clinical practice, the politics of health care, experiences of health and illness, and their portrayal in literature, film and contemporary culture. Amongst the departments represented are History, Science and Technology Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Philosophy, Mental Health, Population Health, Global Health, Laws, Political Science, The Institute of the Americas, Geography, Political Science, The Slade School of Fine Art, the School of European Languages, Culture and Society and the Medical School.

Our research is organised around three main research units:

1. Health and wellbeing examines the nature of health and wellbeing, what it is to live well and to die well, how health and wellbeing should be measured and evaluated for public policy purposes, and the fair distribution of health resources.

2. Public health and global health ethics focuses on the nature, justification and limits of duties to protect health. Subthemes include health inequities, the human right to health, the ethics of health promotion and communicable disease ethics, as well as risk and fair retirement.

3. The history of psychological disciplines aims to foster a historical approach to the psychological disciplines, as well as providing opportunities for dialogue between historians and psychologists.

Our research aims to combine practicality with the highest levels of theoretical rigour. Outputs include policy reports and interventions as well as conventional academic articles and books.