Religion, Medicine, and Human Flourishing on the South Side of Chicago

Historically, medicine has promoted health as central to the good life. The contemporary turn in the medical and social sciences to the more capacious concept of human flourishing, however, presses these disciplines into conversation with longer traditions of inquiry–more specifically religious traditions–on the nature of the good life for individuals and communities. How might religious traditions reveal the possibilities and limits of contemporary views of human flourishing? How might they add elements to discourses of health such as forgiveness, dignity, and character, that might otherwise be missing from medical conversations? How might they challenge assumptions around our understanding not only of the health of the person (human flourishing) but also the health of the body?

Just as medicine is understood best in its practice, so too this course seeks to understand religious traditions as embedded within and responsive to the communities they serve through religious nonprofits and congregations. How does the on-the-ground experience of these community organizations seeking to advance human flourishing on the south side of Chicago challenge these categories?

Note: Instructor’s prior consent required for course enrollment to ensure students fully appreciate the dimensions of field education and experiential learning expected from this course. This course prioritizes enrollment for fourth year students (or third year students graduating early).