Health Geographies
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| GEOG3059 | Geography | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- GEOG3059
- School
- Geography
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
Grounded in the sub-discipline of health geography, and drawing on relevant interdisciplinary perspectives and critical social theories, this module explores the relationships between health and place. A range of historical and contemporary examples are used to consider how health is constructed at various scales and how health inequities are produced. Material emphasizes critical conceptual and empirical work that advances understandings of health as socially and contextually situated, in counterpoint to approaches that see health as largely individually determined by lifestyle ‘choices.’
Target Students
School of Geography students only: BA/BSc Geography (L700, F800) Geography with Business (L7N1) Archaeology and Geography (LV74).Masters in Social Science Research (Geography) students where the module was not taken at UG level (subject to timetabling considerations and pathway lead approval).
Classes
Lectures and group activities.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 2,000 words
- 50% Take Home Exam (2-hour): Take Home Exam.
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
To interrogate historical and contemporary theories, concepts, and empirical examples of health geography research.To critically analyse socio-environmental processes that have shaped and continue to shape health and the experience of health.To engage with a variety of methods for understanding and explaining health geographies.Learning Outcomes
a. Intellectual skills. The student will be able to:
● Apply geographical approaches and concepts to key historical and contemporary health issues.
● Account for the influences and role of place/context in understanding health and health inequalities.
● Analyse the embodied, material, and cultural aspects of health.
b. Professional practical skills. The student will be able to:
● Develop robust arguments substantiated with theory and empirical research in health geography (and related fields).
● Identify and articulate meaningful connections between geographical theories and concepts and landscapes and practises shaping health and ill-health.
c. Transferable skills. The student will be able to:
● Critically evaluate multiple forms of evidence and complex information.
● Communicate complex ideas, orally and in writing.
● Apply a geographically-informed approach to health in other academic and practice realms.