Gender, Health, and the Production of Inequity: Case Studies in Medicine and Global Public Health

1 credits · Undergraduate

This seminar examines how gender shapes health and access to healthcare across diverse patient populations and health systems. Through interdisciplinary readings from medicine, public health, sociology, and gender studies, students will explore how gender intersects with race, sexuality, disability, socioeconomic status, and other social identities to influence disease risk, diagnosis, treatment, health outcomes, and access to care. Each week centers on real-world clinical and public health case studies - from maternal mortality and HIV to infertility, gender-based violence, and reproductive justice - to examine how structural inequities are produced and reproduced in patient care. Students will learn to critically analyze clinical encounters, health policies, and public health interventions using gender and equity frameworks while developing practical skills for delivering more equitable, patient-centered care.