Locating the Humanity/ies in Veterinary Education

Part 1 of this chapter discusses the work of Calvin Schwabe, whose pioneering textbook Veterinary Medicine and Human Health called for veterinary history and sociology to be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum. This was more than twenty years before the term veterinary humanities came into use, but it coincided with a significant expansion of the medical humanities, especially in the United States. Schwabe’s ideas are briefly considered here in historical perspective. Part 2 discusses a number of veterinary humanities initiatives run by the University of Edinburgh in the last ten years. They are grouped under the headings of History, Literature, and Fine Art, and the aim is to suggest how veterinary humanities can be offered effectively within already crowded teaching programmes. The chapter concludes that, appropriately located, the veterinary humanities can provide insights, perspectives, and competencies to help prepare students for veterinary careers in a fast-changing world.