Project Investigator(s): Farah Shroff, Instructor, Department of Political Science
Project Description
The socio-political determinants of health are rooted in income and social equity. This course will encourage Political Science students to see themselves as potentially playing a role as social actors in ameliorating global public health. The research question is linked to students’ (shifting) perspectives about the possibilities of political science as a discipline that improves population health status.
Research Questions
- As a result of this course, will students consider political initiatives as determinants of health?
- How can political science students develop agency in questions related to health and sustainability?
- Given that political science students could not take a health course in their department before, are they able to see that they as potential political actors can make a significant impact on health status?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
September 2017 marks the first time the Department of Political Science will offer a course in the area of health. This work is completely sustainable in that the course can be taught to more students over the years. It is also scalable in making more course offerings, both within and outside Political Science. This would serve to strengthen interdisciplinary studies at UBC; political science students will be exposed to a new, different body of literature and potentially new and different student colleagues. This new discipline may even open up a new career venue for students. This course will illustrate that engaging in work that “levels
the playing field” in any way has a tremendous impact on the health status of large populations.
Project Outcomes
I designed and taught the first course in the field of health within the Department of Political Science. Global Politics and Health is a small, fourth year seminar course. With the support of a SoTL Seed Grant and two other scholars, we dived in and explored student perceptions of this interdisciplinary intersection. Overwhelmingly, student responses indicated that indeed, one course can offer students enough material to whet their appetite and provide them with an ability to clearly articulate issues related to global social determinants of health, the role of governance in population health status, democracy and health issues, women’s health and reproduction, mental health, HIV, education as a determinant of health and more. In addition to the topics in the syllabus, the course shed light on key issues in their own lives. This SoTL study offered me an opportunity to reflect deeply on the course design and its impact. From this first dip into the ocean of SoTL, I’ve learned that it helps educators to improve our craft and share our learnings with colleagues.
We found that one course can have a significant impact on students’ understandings of health and politics. The students’ comments were consistently on another topic, that of androgogy, and how much they enjoyed active learning.