Health Matters

Instructor: Sangeetha Madhavan

As a society, how do we move beyond pro-choice OR pro-life? The 2022 US Supreme Court decision that the right to an abortion is unconstitutional has generated impassioned debate about women’s rights and access to reproductive health care in the US and globally. These debates open space to think beyond polarization to create conditions that promote equity, respect for rights, and a healthy society. But to do that, we must examine the racism, gender inequalities, marginalization, and colonization that produce disparities in reproductive health care and jeopardize the well-being of women, children and families. Who controls the bodies of marginalized women and men? What is the meaning of reproductive rights for people who have little power? What is the difference between reproductive rights and reproductive justice? This course challenges students to bring together multiple disciplines, become critical data consumers, and develop innovative ways to use this knowledge to influence policy.

GenEd: TBA

Offered in: Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

Required/Optional: Required

Instructor: K. Frances Lieder

How do we figure out what we physically desire? How do we know where our boundaries are and how do we communicate that to others? What would it look like to create a campus community where young people are confident about their sexuality and their ability to communicate the nuances of their needs to potential partners? This course is designed as a creative workshop to help students put their own embodied knowledge in conversation with theories and practices of healthy intimacy. Core texts explore the history of sexual violence as a tool of colonization, the relationship between feminism and sex-positivity in popular culture, and the consent theories that have become central to college campus responses to sexual violence. With the help of performance-based techniques, students will have the opportunity to research issues specific to UMD, design curricula for their peers, and advocate for an end to sexual violence on campus.

GenEd: TBA

Offered in: Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

Required/Optional: Optional

Instructor: Yu-Wei Wang

The last few years have highlighted the need to focus greater effort on health and well-being, and the challenge of doing it equitably. College campuses, in particular, have made student care and equitable access a priority. Yet, the data suggest that we are still not succeeding across the board. This seminar takes the current student body at UMD as its case study to understand the range of factors that contribute to well-being and health disparities. Students will review reports and relevant literature about the most recent campus surveys: the University New Student Census, Withdrawal Survey, the Food Access & Student Well-being Study, and surveys completed by Counseling Center clients. They will apply the study findings to their everyday lives, formulate evidence-based recommendations regarding student programs/services, brainstorm questions to be included in future campus surveys, and test ways to use research to promote positive change for all.

GenEd: TBA

Offered in: Spring 2024, Spring 2025

Required/Optional: Optional

Instructor: Kerry Tripp

In real time during the pandemic, we had a front-row seat to how much global healthcare can be a function not of the law but of human action. From how to prioritize populations for vaccines to individual decisions about masks, we were plunged into an almost daily discussion of the values and moral principles that guide nations and people in making choices about healthcare. This class invites students to explore their sense of right and wrong in the public healthcare debate. We will look at traditional issues such as legal paternalism, informed consent, and governmental distrust. And we will take up pressing current issues like abortion’s impact on identity/privacy, disparities in marginalized communities, and biometric technologies. Students will acquire the tools to think critically think about these important issues of fairness and what our current practices reveal about society’s values.

GenEd: TBA

Offered in: Fall 2023, Fall 2024

Required/Optional: Optional