A new student club focused on the intersection of health and humanities launched this semester, giving students with a variety of majors and career interests an opportunity to collaborate on shared interests.
According to its mission statement, the Health Humanities Collective is “a student-led organization at the University of Arizona that brings together students interested in exploring health, illness, and care through storytelling, ethics, creative practice, and interdisciplinary dialogue.”
After gaining official recognition from the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the Health Humanities Collective began meeting in February, drawing about 15 students to meetings as the fledgling club begins hosting activities and planning for the future.
“The club is all about different dimensions of health and overall human well-being. We know the humanities are so expansive, we wanted something that was more accessible and could encompass all of health humanities,” said Mykelti Nuamah, a senior majoring in Religious Studies for Health Professionals and Physiology and Medical Sciences.
The Health Humanities Collective grew out of the Health Humanities Hub Interdisciplinary Scholar program, which launched last spring to offer internships to students majoring in the College of Humanities who are interested in health-related careers.
Nuamah, who started as an H3 Interdisciplinary Scholar in the fall and is continuing this semester, said the scholars wanted a way to allow humanities students to be involved, without a full internship. Planning for the Health Humanities Collective extended across different cohorts of H3 Interdisciplinary Scholars and a funding opportunity presented itself in the fall, when the Center for Buddhist Studies created the new Integrative Well-Being Prize.
Nuamah, founder and current president of the Health Humanities Collective, was awarded $1,000 in seed funding to start the group and support a retreat in the works for later this semester.
Nuamah said that as he progressed through his two majors, he knew he couldn’t be the only student drawn to humanities approaches to health and well-being and now the Health Humanities Collective gives like-minded students a place to gather, collaborate and support one another.
“At our last meeting, two students who hadn’t met before were both Religious Studies majors, but both had a completely unrelated second major. It was interesting to see how these fields interconnect and there’s a lot to learn internally from each other. Interdisciplinary collaboration among ourselves is important and seeing where other people are at can help gauge where you’re at too,” he said.
The Health Humanities Collective is structured with an executive committee made of committee chairs, the first two focusing on community engagement and health and well-being. A committee on art and expression is under discussion. But the structure allows for students to pursue any topic of interest.
“The sky is the limit,” Nuamah said. “No matter what interest a student has, they can come and make a committee or collaborate with an event.”
Health Humanities Hub Coordinator Christine Hoekenga said she’s been impressed by the wide variety of interests and projects the H3 Interdisciplinary Scholars have brought, and their initiative to launch a student club will benefit many more students in the future.
“The students' mix of fields and backgrounds is a huge strength of this group. This type of interdisciplinary dialogue doesn’t just happen and it’s refreshing to see students seeking it out and building something with intention,” she said. “I’m excited to see how this truly student-driven Collective will take shape. Offering a way for all students to engage with health humanities topics, including integrative wellbeing practices, is a service to our campus and ultimately to the future health professionals who will eventually care for all of us.”
To join or learn more, email healthhumanitiescollective@gmail.com or follow on Instagram: @uahealthhumanitiescollective.