Stigma and Health

Graduate / Professional

This course engages students in conceptualizing stigma as a fundamental cause of adverse health. After reviewing conceptual models of stigma, students examine the multiple mechanisms—both structural and individual—through which stigma compromises the health of a large proportion of U.S. and global populations. Given the relevance of identity and stress to the study of stigma and health, the empirical platform of the course is complemented by considering the relevance of conceptual models of identity, intersectionality, and minority stress. The course reviews social/behavioral and epidemiological methods for studying stigma. Students compare individual- and structural-level interventions to reduce both stigma at its source and its downstream impact on individual health. Class content is organized around themes that cut across all stigmatized conditions and identities. However, students devote course assignments to individual stigmas of their choice. Therefore, students can expect to explain stigma as a predicament that affects nearly all individuals at some point in the life course while developing expertise in one or two stigmas that are particularly relevant to their interests. Th 1pm-2:50pm