Planetary Health: Health in the Anthropocene

1 Unit · Graduate

As an emerging scientific field within and beyond global health, planetary health seeks to unravel the interlinkages between environmental health, human health, and the societal aspects on which these two depend. Beyond just a scientific discipline, planetary health is also a movement that seeks to leverage these new understandings to find solutions that integrate the well-being of our biosphere. It does so by taking a transdisciplinary and multisectoral approach to understanding the indivisible bidirectional relationship between the environment and well-being. As an introductory level course to planetary health, the course will focus on the major elements of current planetary health research, policy-action, and practice. A central theme of the course will be the use of a social justice and equity lens to the planetary health challenges we are facing and how this lens can inform more comprehensive solutions. Complexity, movement building, governance, and interconnection within nature and their relation to planetary health will also be critical themes explored during this course.