Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities
was created in 1971, using the structures of former Philosophy Division and History of Medicine Division which were dissolved in the same year by the Minister of Health and Social Security. Till 1990 the Department’s activities were focused on the didactics od philosophy, sociology and political sciences, and on research in the field of history of healthcare and of Polish philosophy of medicine. Between 1971 and 1996, when professor Mieczysław Stański was the head of the Department, 25 doctoral theses concerning the history of healthcare in Poland were written.
In 1997 professor Michał Musielak became the head of the Department. Next year, the Department, by the decision of the University’s Senate, was transferred from the Medical Faculty to the Faculty of Health Sciences.
On December 21 2018, based on the Rector's Decree no 131/2018, the Department changed its name to the Department of Social Sciences and the Humanities.
The Department has several divisions and labs:
Division of Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine - since 2000 (till 2005 Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine Lab)
Sociology of Health and Social Pathology Lab – since 2004
History of Public Health and Health and Social Policy History Lab – since 2008
History of Medical Professions Lab – since 2015