Professor: Gutmann Course format: Lecture w/section Number of respondents: 136 Total Enrollment: 171 Class Composition: Froshs: 75 Sophs: 49 Jrs: 28 Srs: 18 Concs: 10 Non-Concs: 116 Don't Know: 3

Instructor Average: 2.67 Course Average: 2.18

If you've ever stopped to think about how issues like culture, race, gender, and class can affect health and our perceptions of it, then 'Culture and Health' is a course that will interest you. And if you've never considered this topic, then maybe you should! One of the most important features of the course is that students are sure to come across completely unfamiliar ideas about how disease and healthcare are viewed in other cultures, looking at medicine and health beyond the biological aspects.

Professor Gutmann got mixed reviews from his students. Many reviewers felt that the course consisted of more questions than answers, as it was the instructor's style to pose a question to the class and then leave it hanging. This method, while thought-provoking, was frustrating for many students and made note-taking difficult. Students were also quick to point out, however, that the professor was very approachable and genuinely interested in the subject. Gutmann made frequent use of videos and guest lecturers, most of whom were interesting and informative.

The required readings for the course (about a book a week) were excellent, by most accounts, but only took up about two to four hours a week outside of class. Students considered the tests to be fair, explaining that the essay topics were pretty broad and usually given out ahead of time. In addition to the exams (a midterm and a final) there was one group 'poster project' and presentation, which most students described as fun but not particularly useful.

Many students felt that there could have been more in-depth explanations of some of the ideas. Several people also pointed out that the class, and especially the weekly section meetings, needed to be more structured, so as to make better use of that time. One frequent comment was that the course would probably work better as a small seminar where more discussion would be possible, given the questions raised by much of the material.

Students taking this course didn't devote too much time to it, but still thought it was really interesting and were glad to have taken it. Those people interested in working in healthcare, in particular, found that the material forced them to look at a lot of important issues very differently.

View AN/0023 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.