Women's Public Health

3 Units

This course aims to cover local and global issues as they pertain to women. Many major issues of global health concern will be addressed, including the health-demoting effects of poverty, racism, patriarchy, and inhumane conditions of life and labor in many countries; men's and women's sexuality in the era of HIV/AIDS; the politics of epidemic disease control and other disasters, and the role of communities, nation-states, and international organizations in responding to such crises; issues of coercion in population control and the quest for reproductive rights; and how child health is ultimately dependent on the health and well-being of mothers. The underlying purpose of the course is to develop students' awareness of the political, socioeconomic, ecological, and cultural complexity of most health problems in resource-constrained and resource-rich nations and the consequent need for cultural sensitivity, contextualization, and activist involvement in the field of global health.