Advanced Healing and Traditional Care

XXIII. ADVANCED HEALING & TRADITIONAL CARE
Heal the People. Preserve the Knowledge. Continue the Work.
HORB TRT 501 — Black Southern Herbal Healing Traditions
Examines herbal healing knowledge within Black Southern households and communities through historical testimony and botanical research. Students study teas, washes, poultices, foods, and household remedies while addressing safety, toxicity, and modern medical knowledge. The course preserves ancestral healing knowledge with accuracy and responsibility.
HORB TRT 502 — The Granny Woman as Healer
Centers Black Southern granny women as keepers of household medicine, birth knowledge, prayer, and community wisdom. Students examine oral histories, cultural context, and the social role of healing women in Black communities. The course honors granny medicine as survival knowledge and a vital part of Black American history.
HORB TRT 503 — Midwifery, Birth & Women’s Folk Knowledge
Examines Black Southern midwifery, pregnancy beliefs, birth customs, postpartum care, and the role of community midwives. Students study historical practices and the impact of racism and limited medical access on Black women’s reproductive care, and the course preserves birthing knowledge within historical context.
HORB TRT 504 — Children’s Folk Remedies & Protective Traditions
Examines household remedies, prayers, protective customs, and folk beliefs surrounding Black Southern children. Students study historical practices while considering modern safety, as substances safe for adults may be unsafe for children. The course emphasizes protected histories, care, and the importance of modern pediatric medical attention when needed.
HORB TRT 505 — Fever, Colds & Everyday Household Remedies: Historical Study
Documents historical approaches to common illness such as fever, colds, congestion, aches, and stomach complaints. Students examine teas, foods, steam, poultices, rubs, and baths while identifying unsafe practices and substances. The course preserves ancestral medical history and compares traditional use with modern understanding.
HORB TRT 506 — Poultices, Compresses & Washes
Examines external preparations applied through cloth, plant matter, water, and other topical substances. Students learn preparation methods, sanitation, cultural context, and safety considerations such as burns, skin irritation, and contamination. The course distinguishes household treatment from spiritual washing while recognizing their historical overlap.
HORB TRT 507 — Healing Prayer & Laying on Hands
Examines healing prayer, touch, laying on of hands, and spiritual comfort within Biblical and Black church traditions. Students study construction of prayers, consent, boundaries, hygiene, and appropriate conduct. The course prepares students to offer spiritual support without claiming prayer replaces medical care.
HORB TRT 508 — Convalescence, Food & Household Care
Studies the household labor surrounding recovery from illness or injury. Students examine food, rest, clean bedding, bathing, ventilation, and family assistance as part of traditional care. The course highlights Black Southern foodways and the cultural meaning of comforting the sick.
HORB TRT 509 — Grief as a Spiritual and Human Condition
Examines grief, mourning customs, prayer, dreams of the dead, and the long social life of loss. Students learn to recognize spiritual experiences while also understanding when grief requires professional mental-health support. The course teaches compassionate, ethical care without exploiting bereaved clients.
HORB TRT 510 — Knowing the Boundary Between Root Doctoring and Medicine
Establishes the limits of spiritual practice in health-related cases. Students learn to recognize emergencies, serious symptoms, and situations requiring professional medical care while building spiritual support around appropriate healthcare. The course reinforces that knowing when not to doctor something spiritually is essential to being a responsible Root Doctor.