Movies in the classroom: Lessons for curriculum design

Public health is considered to be both a science and an art, in which we seek to protect, improve and promote human health and enhance quality of life. It is a wide-ranging discipline, encompassing a broad mix of practitioners who work across a variety of organisational settings, and draws from science, technology, social sciences and law. Leadership, too, is often described as an art and as a field of study “draws on both the arts and the sciences” (Gill, 2006, p. 5). However, the word ‘art’ is frequently used indiscriminately and also ambiguously; it is a word that we often associate with the humanities, yet there has been relatively little discussion of how both public health and leadership, as subjects of study, are informed by the humanities. In what ways can the humanities, here largely defined as a collection of academic disciplines that include literature, drama and film, be used to enhance the learning of those practising, or seeking to practise, in the fields of public health and leadership? There is a burgeoning body of literature which suggests that, by incorporating into our teaching the humanities, including film, we can enhance the learning experience of our students and help lay the foundations for greater sensitivity, understanding and empathy, as well as make the learning more ‘real’. In medicine, too, there has been growing interest in the use of the humanities to enhance medical training, with much of the literature suggesting that exposure can help make those who practise medicine more empathetic, understanding and thoughtful in their work. Why not, then, explore how this might be incorporated into the teaching of public health and leadership