Medical Humanities: An Introduction

Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr Cole has published many articles and several books on the history of aging and humanistic gerontology. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer prize. His book No Color Is my Kind and accompanying film The Strange Demise of Jim Crow (1997) were nominated for a National Humanities medal. His work has been featured in the New York Times, on National Public Radio, Voice of America, PBS, and at the United Nations.

Nathan S. Carlin is Associate Professor at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics and Director of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He has co-authored two previous books, Living in Limbo: Life in the Midst of Uncertainty (2010) and 100 Years of Happiness: Insights and Findings from the Experts (2012). He has also published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews in about a dozen different journals.

Ronald A. Carson is Professor Emeritus at the Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch. He has received fellowships from the Institute on Human Values in Medicine, the Council for Philosophical Studies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is an elected Fellow of the Hastings Center, a former president of the Society for Health and Human Values, and a recipient of that society's annual award. He has written many articles, chapters, and book reviews. He is co-editor of four books, including Practicing the Medical Humanities: Engaging Physicians and Patients (2003).