This volume represents the first textbook in medical humanities. After decades of teaching in both medical and undergraduate schools, we wrote the book because there was still no single resource for interested students and faculty. While there are edited volumes in medical humanities, these books do not offer a coherent vision of or engagement with the field. We wrote this book to present such a vision and engagement.

We define medical humanities as an inter- and multidisciplinary field that explores contexts, experiences, and critical and conceptual issues in medicine and health care, while supporting professional identity formation. Our vision of the field is rooted in the humanistic educational ideal that aims to form individuals who take charge of their own minds, who are free from narrow and unreflective forms of thought, who are compassionate, and who act in the public or professional world. The book aims to stimulate and enhance both critical thinking and character development. We aim not only to bring the humanities to students but also to evoke the humanity of students.