PBH2003 · Culture, society and health

Overview

This unit will explore how individual and population experiences of health are shaped by culture and society. The unit draws on key sociological, anthropological, political and philosophical theories to reveal various relationships between health and the larger socio-cultural realities in which people live. Students will be encouraged to foster skills in critical deconstruction of Western representations of culture to arrive at an appreciation of various 'ways of knowing,' including Indigenous scholarship. Examples will be drawn from healthcare and economic systems in Australia and overseas.

Areas of study: Health science Public health

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment in this unit includes hurdle assessment tasks. Failure of any hurdle assessment task may result in failure of the unit.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. Apply key principles of sociological and anthropological thought to the lived experience of individuals and populations
2. Apply the themes associated with the sociological imagination to examine the social production, construction and organisation of health locally and globally
3. Apply sociological theories as analytical tools to critically examine cultural, social, political and economic factors influencing health
4. Critically examine and evaluate aspects of culture and society with which they are familiar (as well as historical representations) in order to extend their understanding of the socio-cultural structures, institutions and processes relevant to health globally.

Workload

1 hour lecture, 2 hour tutorial, 3 hours of directed online student learning activities, plus 6 hours of self-directed study per week.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.