Global South Perspectives on Body, Health, and Care

Catalog Description:  

This course offers an in-depth exploration of health, the body, and care practices through the lens of Global South perspectives. Global South perspectives are essential to understanding global health because health is inherently transnational, with diseases, healthcare innovations, and policies crossing borders and deeply interlinking the Global South and Global North. These perspectives illuminate how historical inequities, resource flows, and collaborative challenges between regions shape global health outcomes and drive the need for equitable, interconnected solutions. Drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks, this course critically examines how colonial histories, socio-political contexts, and local knowledge systems shape understandings of health and well-being. Topics include traditional healing practices, the impact of globalization and development on healthcare systems, gendered experiences of the body, and resistance movements advocating for equitable health access. Through case studies, literature, and discussions, students will engage with diverse viewpoints to challenge dominant narratives and reimagine care as a culturally and socially situated practice.

     Syllabus

Note: Contact the Course Coordinator for any syllabi for previous years. 

View site addresses by clicking on the site name below or visiting the site codes table.

Sites: 

Typical weekly schedule/Delivery Mode:  3 Hours in Seminar, plus 35 hours work reading and 2 hours writing

Direct patient care:  No

Consent Requirement: Open to student scheduling

Grading Scale: P-N

Allow repetition of course: No

Course equivalency: N/A