Admission requirements
Required course(s):
None.
Description
Over the span of the block, we will examine how scholars and practitioners study disease, public health, and the practice of medicine in various contexts. Health maintains a prominent position in our everyday lives as well as in history, often playing a key role in societal changes. This course will not take a chronological approach to the subject but will instead focus on topical issues such as the history of biomedicine, colonial medicine, traditional medical practices, and an in-depth look at a few specific diseases, such as smallpox, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
The core objective of this course is to train students to think critically about public health in various contexts and consider how current ways of thinking about health developed over time. To that end, we will examine these subjects from a variety of (academic) perspectives, including historical, anthropological, policy, NGO, and public health viewpoints. While understanding health and disease deeply requires some knowledge of biology and other sciences, there is no requirement for a strong background in these areas to follow this course. Biological concepts will be introduced through lectures or discussions as needed. Students will hone their skills through reading, exercises, classroom discussions, group presentations, and formal writing.
Course Objectives
Skills:
*Students will be able to write focused arguments relating to course content.
*Students will be able to give an effective oral presentation that educates the class on a supplementary topic.
Knowledge:
*Students will be able to discuss and describe general themes and trends over time in the related to health, disease, and medicine.
*Students will be able to explain and analyze the different perspectives and meanings of the terms ‘health,’ ‘disease’ and ‘illness.’
*Students will be able to identify and describe different factors that can contribute to ways of understanding health, diseases and medicine.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
This course will take the form of a seminar, with two 2-hour sessions per week. Each class will center on a discussion of the assigned readings. The first hour of each session will focus on presentations and discussions, and the second part will center around experiential learning exercises and/or group work. The instructor may also provide reading questions in advance of class, along with suggestions and strategies for digesting the assigned material. Where applicable, video, internet, or other media will be used for learning purposes. Guest lectures may be provided by experts in the field.
Assessment Method
Engagement (Participation), 10%
Group Work/Presentation, 15%
Two short essays, 17,5% each
Final Exam, 40%
Reading list
TBA
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Jeroen Lorist, j.lorist@rutgers.nl
Remarks
Readings will be communicated well before the course begins.