Academic Files | Medical Humanities Study Abroad

Academic Information

Study-Abroad Program in Toledo/Madrid, Spain

Medical/Health Humanities

Cross-Cultural Perspectives from Hispanic Literature and Art

“Seeing the Human Condition Anew through Art and Literature”

May 16-31, 2026 (14 days in Spain); pre-and-post online coursework

UTRGV Professor Suzanne LaLonde

Suzanne.Lalonde@utrgv.edu and Suzannelalonde.us

In the 12 th and 13 th centuries, Toledo, Spain developed into the European capital of

translation, multilingualism, and multiculturalism. The Toledo School of Translators

(Escuela de Traductores de Toledo) hosted scholars, proto-scientists, and translators

from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultural heritages. More than just tolerating one

another from a distance, they studied and worked together on translations of classical

texts on religion, philosophy, and science. These scholars from different backgrounds

shared the conviction that their differences could help cultivate enlightenment about the

complexities of the human experience and the natural world. Today, the city serves as a

testament of tolerance, open-mindedness, and curiosity about others and a symbol of

hope for a peaceful future.

This two-week long study-abroad program in Madrid and Toledo, Spain (May 16-31,

2026) is inspired by the historical legacy of the city of Toledo. It is designed for Honors

students in the Medical Humanities programs: MEDH 2311 (“INTRO TO MEDICAL

HUMANITIES”); MEDH 4301 (“MEDICAL HUMANITIES CAPSTONE”); and HONR

4388 will be offered. These classes will cover Literature (poetry) from Spain and Latin

America that depicts landscapes of people suffering from physical, mental, and

psychosomatic illnesses, as well as healthcare providers, with the aim of cultivating a

more psycho-philosophical understanding of illnesses and healthcare. After all, and as

the novelist Franz Kafka wrote: “To write a prescription is easy, but to come to an

understanding of people is hard.” In addition, art studied in the museums of Madrid and

Toledo will provoke new ways of seeing and of feeling and complement and embellish

complex views of the human condition found in literature.

All texts studied will be in both English and Spanish, side-by-side translations, as

well as reflective exercise prompts will be provided that can be completed in either

language. The courses are designated as part of the B3 program, fostering a more

academic knowledge of both Spanish and English.