UC | Bridging Disciplines Program

Social Inequality, Health & Policy

Bridging Disciplines Programs allow you to earn an interdisciplinary certificate that integrates area requirements, electives, courses for your major, internships, and research experiences.

The BDP in Social Inequality, Health & Policy introduces you to the causes and consequences of the huge disparities in health, life expectancy, and medical care delivery that exist in the world today. Through the lenses of multiple disciplines, the BDP focuses on what national and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, can and should do to effectively reduce the most glaring health vulnerabilities. As part of the Social Inequality, Health & Policy BDP, you will learn to investigate how large-scale demographic and social developments—including international migration, the growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, changes in marriage and family patterns, and aging populations—affect nations’ population structures, the overall quality of life of their populations, and the evolution of their health care delivery systems. The BDP allows you to consider these issues through a variety of fields, such as Anthropology, Demography, Economics, Education, Geography, Government, Human Ecology, Psychology, Public Affairs, Religious Studies, Social Work, and Sociology, among others.

Upon completion of 19 credit hours from the options listed below, you will earn a certificate in Social Inequality, Health & Policy.

Note: Course descriptions available here are from a recent offering of the course, and they may not reflect the description for the next offering of the course.

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Forum Seminar Courses (1 credit hours)

All students in the Social Inequality, Health & Policy BDP are required to take a Forum Seminar. Choose one Forum Seminar Course.

SIHP Forum

BDP 101 Health Inequality in Childhood and Adolescence

Health inequality in childhood and adolescence appears in all stages of the human life course as a function of the stratification of American society by race, social class, gender, and other factors. In childhood and adolescence, inequalities emerge in mental health, obesity, health behavior, and other aspects of health that lay a foundation for the even greater inequalities in health, including life expectancy, that characterize adult populations. Thus, combating early health inequalities can have long-term, lasting effects on the general well-being of American society as a whole. Because the first step in combating such early health inequalities is to understand them, this seminar will investigate in detail the various inequalities in health that arise and persist during the early life course by listening to experts from the health field, reading research articles on health, and discussing both the causes of health problems and possible methods of preventing such problems.

BDP 101 Intro to Public Policy

The Constitution begins with “We, the People,” but does not say who “the people” are. As a result, we have been arguing for more than two centuries about who belongs here – who should be allowed to immigrate into the United States, who can claim citizenship, and whether different groups of people have different rights and responsibilities. This seminar will use key policy documents – the 1790 Naturalization Act, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott and Wong Kim Ark decisions, the 14th Amendment, and the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, among others – to trace the evolution of our long-running argument about who should be considered part of “We, the people.” In the process, students will learn about the three core components of all policies: classification (creating sub-groups within a population), assignment (determining which subgroup a particular individual belongs to) and allocation (doling out rights and responsibilities according to the classification.) The seminar also will cover the institutions and processes involved in developing and implementing public policy. After taking this course, students will have the background needed to engage in informed discussion of controversial public policy issues such as immigration reform, “birthright” citizenship, and the uses of racial and ethnic classifications.

BDP 101 Social Inequal, Hlth, & Policy

The Social Inequality, Health & Policy Seminar explores the causes, consequences, and importance of health disparities. The course will cover international approaches to dealing with healthcare and discuss what national and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, can do to effectively reduce the most glaring health vulnerabilities. We will discuss a sample of health issues affected by disparities and the factors driving those discrepancies.

Foundation Courses (6 credit hours)

Foundation Courses introduce key methodologies and concepts related to Social Inequality, Health & Policy. Choose one course from each of the following categories.

Population and Other Macro Approaches

GRG 322D Human Health & the Environment

Each year, hundreds of chemicals are found in Americans of all ages, including lead, mercury, dioxins and PCBs. Studies have detected antibacterial agents from liquid soaps in infants' cord blood, breast milk, and children’s urine. PBDEs, or flame retardants, which can have negative impacts on learning and memory, show up in fabrics, upholstery, mattresses, and electronics, and leach out into household air and dust. News magazines call autism an ‘epidemic.’ Pollution is an affliction of the industrial age, and remains one of the most vexing unintended consequences of economic growth. This course discusses these contemporary, and often controversial, issues in environmental health, focusing on how today's environmental issues directly affect our health. Of particular interest in environmental morbidity is the unequal distribution of exposures among people of different socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Poor people are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards, in the home, in school and workplace, and outdoors. Toxic environmental exposures typically cannot be easily controlled individually, and therefore are heavily determined by our larger community and political decisions. Accordingly, this course focuses on the decision-making process and the larger concept of environmental ethics. Because toxic exposures from manufactured chemicals could potentially be avoided by not using the chemicals in the first place, many ethical questions, dilemmas, and controversies arise in this course. For example, fossil fuels and human health – how should the short-term gains of using fossil fuels be weighed against the longer-term health consequences of respiratory and cardiopulmonary disease? Or obesity, under-nutrition, and starvation - the simultaneous existence of these conditions, particularly in one country, reveals a problem in environmental justice. Accordingly, we examine the relationship between humans and nature, and discuss the concepts of sustainability and resilience, and global health.

GRG 334E Children's Environmental Health

This course discusses these contemporary, and often controversial, issues in environmental health, focusing on how today's environmental issues directly affect children. Environmental contaminants often affect children differently, and more intensely, than they do adults. Pound-for-pound, children eat more food, drink more water, and breathe more air than do adults, which exposes them to higher levels of toxicants. Children engage in activities differently than do adults, such as putting their hands in their mouths, playing on the ground, and putting objects in their mouths, which can result in more intense exposures to contaminants. In addition, environmental contaminants may affect children disproportionately because children are not fully developed - environmental contaminants can interfere with critical pathways of development, their immune systems are not fully functioning, and their ability to remove toxins is less effective. The thousands of chemicals children are exposed to have undergone little to no toxicity testing and their potential health dangers to children are generally unknown. These exposures, in conjunction with the public health achievements of vaccines and antibiotics, have shifted the nature of childhood illness in developed countries from communicable disease to one of chronic illness. The childhood face of toxic environmental exposures is both chronic and acute – from asthma exacerbated by air pollution to delayed development from lead in paint to the complex, chronic conditions of multiple origins, like autism. These are known as the “new pediatric morbidity.” Of particular interest in this new pediatric morbidity is the unequal distribution of exposures among children of different socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Poor children are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards, in the home, in school, and outdoors.

N 309 Global Health

This course provides students with an overview of global health. Particular emphasis is given to the determinants of health, health indicators, human rights, globalization, current socio-cultural factors, healthcare and public health systems. Course Objectives: During the course, students will: 1. Define key public health concepts related to global health including epidemiology, measures of health status, determinants of health, burden of disease, health promotion, and social justice. 2. Describe how globalization impacts changing patterns in health and disease. 3. Analyze how determinants of health, approaches to disease prevention and health promotion, and social, cultural, economic, and human rights factors influence the health of world populations. 4. Compare the impact of health disparities in various regions of the world. 5. Assess how research and technology contribute to improving global health. 6. Describe how the environment and disasters (natural and man-made) affect global health. 7. Describe key organizations’ and institutions’ roles in global health. 8. Examine interventions designed to improve global health.

SOC 308S Intro to Health and Society

The principle objective of H S 301/SOC 308S is to offer students a broad overview of health and society from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. We will examine how social forces influence health and disease in U.S. society, including cultural, economic, and demographic considerations. We will explore why rates of disease vary among different populations and how cultural and structural inequalities shape access to healthcare and affect morbidity and mortality. How do economic factors, politics, public perceptions of morality, and historical biases against specific populations shape our modern-day understandings and experiences of health and illness? We will also examine how social forces shape the very definitions of health, illness, and disease categories, and thereby medical diagnoses and treatments. We will consider the social consequences of the commodification of healthcare and how new technologies are transforming our current healthcare system and the nature of the patient/physician relationship. Our course readings and discussions will help us address current bioethical controversies that continue to influence our beliefs about health and illness and shape our very understandings about human rights and personhood. This course is built around lectures (including guest lectures), class discussion, and film screenings and discussion.

SOC 319 Intro to Social Demography

Social consequences of changes in fertility, mortality, migration, population growth and composition.

SOC 341C MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY

The overarching theme of this course is that health and illness cannot be understood by reference to biological phenomena and medical knowledge alone. Instead, we must also consider a variety of social, cultural, political, and economic forces. This course is designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the important social, cultural, political, and economic forces which shape and produce health and illness, health care, and the medical realm of society. In the first section of the course, we will examine the ways in which key sociological variables shape and pattern health and longevity, including socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, sex/gender, and social integration. The second section of the course will emphasize the illness experience, or how people make sense of, seek help for, and manage illness, as well as how medically relevant constructs are formed and how these constructs in turn influence medical care and human behavior. The final section of the course will focus on health care providers and the health care system and health care policy in the United States.

SOC 342N SOCIAL INEQUALITY HEALTH IN US

This course examines patterns of health and illness in the US and their possible causes. By focusing on societal structures and demographic trends, the course is able to uncover the ways in which American society and social interactions shape health outcomes across the adult population. Some attention in the course is also devoted to the healthcare system in the US and the ways in which it leads to certain population health outcomes. The course is designed with experiential learning in mind, thus it requires students to undertake projects that help them better understand how health outcomes are patterned in the community around UT Austin.

SOC 369K Population and Society

The study of populations, including their growth, age structure, and patterns of fertility, mortality, and migration; the social causes and consequences of these phenomena.

Methods

ECO 329 Economic Statistics

Methods of statistical analysis and interpretation of quantitative data in the field of economics.

EDP 371 Introduction to Statistics

Measures of central tendency and variability; correlation and regression; probability and statistical inference; analysis of variance; nonparametric statistics.

GRG 360G Envir Geographic Info Systems

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been used in a multitude of environmental applications because it aids in the collection, storage, analysis, and visualization of spatial information and it helps users to make informed decisions regarding the use, management, and protection of the environment. This course will cover the theory of GIS with hands-on experience in a multitude of environmental applications including: geographical data entry and acquisition, dataconversion, database query and site selection, vector and raster modeling, and integration with global positioning system (GPS).

GRG 460G Envir Geographic Info Systems

HDF 315L Rsch Meth in Human Dev/Fam Sci

Survey of research methods, including observational and experimental techniques.

HED 343 Foundations of Epidemiology

Designed to familiarize students with the basic tenets of epidemiology, as well as to provide an introduction to the different types of epidemiological study designs. Health Education 343 and Kinesiology 377 may not both be counted.

PSY 320M Psychological Methods and Statistics

Survey of statistics, including central tendency, variability and inference, and scientific methodology used in psychological research.

S W 313 Social Work Research Methods

Introduction to the logic, design, and use of research, with emphasis on research designs appropriate to social work.

S W 318 Social Work Statistics

Introduction to statistics commonly used in social work research, including the critical analysis of the findings and inferential processes of existing research studies.

SDS 301 Elementary Statistical Methods

In this class you will learn the fundamental procedures for data organization and analysis. You will learn about frequency distributions, graphical presentation, sampling, experimental design, inference, and regression. The purpose of this course is to increase your data literacy, or your ability to inspect, critically analyze, and present data. This course may be used to fulfill the mathematics component of the university core curriculum and addresses the following three core objectives established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: communication skills, critical thinking skills, and empirical and quantitative skills. This course carries the Quantitative Reasoning fag. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems. This course carries the Ethics fag. Ethics courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for making ethical decisions in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments involving ethical issues and the process of applying ethical reasoning to real-life situations.

SDS 302F Foundations of Data Analysis

Basic probability and data analysis for the sciences. Subjects include randomness, sampling, distributions, probability models, inference, regression, and nonlinear curve fitting.

SDS 306 Statistics in Market Analysis

This course is designed to help you learn the introductory descriptive and inferential statistical procedures that are commonly used in research concerning health, behavior, and attitudes. You will learn the assumptions underlying common statistical procedures, the types of hypotheses that can be tested by these procedures, and the inferences that can be drawn from their results. After completing this course, you will have developed a sufficient foundation from which you can begin to conduct your own analyses and critically evaluate the statistical analyses of others.

SDS 311C NUMBERING RACE

In this course, you will have the opportunity to examine, analyze, and critique real-world data, quantitative research, and public discourse concerning race in America. Some empirical and quantitative skills you will learn this semester include: 1) Conceptualization and measurement, 2) The calculation and interpretation of descriptive statistics and statistical relationships, 3) The application of statistical techniques to understand social phenomenon, and 4) Techniques for presenting results from quantitative analysis. You will also be introduced to some of the quantitative actions that justify racial thinking and impact our current collective and individual understandings of race. This course satisfies the core math requirement and carries the quantitative reasoning flag.

SDS 320E Elements of Statistics

Basic theory of probability and statistics with practical applications with biological data. Includes fundamentals of probability, distribution theory, sampling models, data analysis, basics of experimental design, statistical inference, interval estimation and hypothesis testing. Three lecture hours and one discussion hour a week for one semester.

SOC 317L Intro to Social Statistics

This course is intended to provide graduate students in sociology with (a) a level of literacy in statistical methods that will permit a basic understanding of most publications in the field's major journals, (b) the basic tools needed for a master's thesis that uses quantitative methods, (c) preparation for more advanced courses in this department and for independent study, and (d) a sensitivity for the limitations, as well as the strengths, of quantitative methods.

SOC 317M Intro to Social Research

The logic of scientific research, general methods of data collection and analysis, and computer applications.

STA 309 Elementary Business Statistics

Training in the use of data to gain insight into business problems; describing distributions (center, spread, change, and relationships), producing data (experiments and sampling), probability and inference (means, proportions, differences, regression and correlation).

Connecting Experiences (6 credit hours)

Your BDP advisor can help you find internships and research opportunities that connect Social Inequality, Health & Policy to your major and interests. We call these opportunities “Connecting Experiences” because they play such an important role in integrating your studies. Each Connecting Experience counts for 3 credit hours. You will need to complete two Connecting Experiences.

For more information and for examples of past Connecting Experiences, visit the BDP website and consult your BDP advisor. BDP students must propose Connecting Experiences to the BDP office. Current BDP students should view the BDP Advising Canvas site for Connecting Experience resources and proposal instructions.

Strand Courses (6 credit hours)

In addition to your Foundation Courses and Connecting Experiences, you must complete 6 credit hours of Strand Courses, to bring your total credit hours toward the BDP certificate to 19 hours. You should work with your BDP advisor to choose Strand Courses that will focus your BDP on your specific interests, and that will provide you with an interdisciplinary perspective on your BDP topic.

Choose one of the following concentrations, and complete 6 credit hours from within that concentration:

Social Inequality

Public Health

Family, Fertility and the Life Course

Migration and Diaspora

In order to create an interdisciplinary experience, you must choose courses from a variety of disciplines. Only one of your Strand Courses may come from your major department(s), or from courses cross-listed with your major department(s). In addition, one of your Strand Courses must be upper-division. Your BDP certificate as a whole must represent a variety of disciplines; your BDP advisor can help you ensure that your coursework will meet the certificate requirements for interdisciplinarity.

Social Inequality

AAS 325 Chinese in the US

A lecture and discussion course on the history of the Chinese in the United States from their first arrival in significant numbers during the California Gold Rush of the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

AAS 330G URBAN UNREST

How and when do cities burn? The modern US city has seen its share of urban unrest, typified by street protests (both organized and spontaneous), the destruction of private property, looting and fires. Interpretations of urban unrest are varied: some describe it as aimless rioting, others as political insurrection. Most agree that the matter has something to do with the deepening of racism, poverty and violence in U.S. cities. This course takes a closer look at the roots of urban unrest, exploring a range of origins: joblessness, state violence, white flight, the backlash against civil rights gains, new immigration and interracial strife. Urban unrest is often cast as an intractable struggle between black and white, yet this course examines the ways in which multiple racial groups have entered the fray. Beyond race and class, the course will also explore unrest as a mode of pushing the normative boundaries of gender and sexuality in public space. Course material will draw from film, literature, history, geography and anthropology. Course format:

ADV 378 Exploring Food/Urban Change

None

AFR 302M Numbering Race

In this course, you will learn about quantitative methodology and statistics through the lens of race. You will have the opportunity to examine, analyze, and critique real-world data, quantitative research, and public discourse concerning race in America. Some empirical and quantitative skills you will learn this semester include (1) conceptualization and operationalization in quantitative measurement, (2) the calculation and interpretation of descriptive statistics and statistical relationships, (3) the application of statistical techniques to understand social phenomenon, and (4) techniques for presenting results from quantitative analysis. As we cover various statistical techniques, you will also learn about the origins of the concept race, including the actors (many of whom were scientists and statisticians) and actions that brought race into being and continue to justify racial thinking. We will also discuss how these efforts have impacted our current collective and individual understandings of race, especially as they relate to the quantitative study of race and various social problems. This coursesatisfies the core math requirement and carries the quantitative reasoning flag.

AFR 317D Community Policing in US

This course will delve into the history of policing in the United States by examining the beginning of American policing including a focus on community policing. Students will have the opportunity to meet area police officers, judges and laypersons representing community policing. The course will incorporate the use of lectures, readings/articles, video, research and extensive class discussions to assist in exploring the impact of community policing in the United States.

AFR 322D Race and the Digital

Is the Internet a trashfire (like Logan Paul’s Suicide Forest video?). Is it one big click-bait to get us to part with our biometric data (think Google Arts & Culture Face Match app or Snapchat)? A site of abuse and trolling? Or does it offer us a means of political organizing by way of various “digital counterpublics”? This seminar takes up these questions and more through an examination of race and digital technologies. Attention will be placed on forms of popular culture, social media, black cultural production and political action. Students will become more skilled in written communication and expression, reading, critical thinking, oral expression, and visual expression.

AFR 350 Measuring Racial Inequality

Currently, one of the most important issues in the social sciences is the problem of social inequality. The question covers several aspects like the causes of disparities, ethical and normative dimensions, public policies addressing the problem, and tools and methodologies for measuring social inequality. Nevertheless, the specific matter of racial and ethnic inequality is as important as the problem of social inequality in general. Because it does not only include all the aspects listed above, but because it incorporates new complexities related to the relations and connections between ethnic-racial groups, social classes, and gender; as well as the means for measuring this kind of inequality.The course Measuring Ethnic-Racial Inequality will cover the following topics: i) social and racial inequality - concepts and theory ii) how to measure ethnic and racial inequality - main methods and limits; iii) sources of statistical information.

AFR 350K PUERTO RICO IN CRISIS

This course will provide a history of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States focusing in particular on questions of crisis, capitalism, and politics. The course will center around two questions: What is Puerto Rico to the United States? And how did we get to the present moment? In answering these questions, we will focus in particular on the ways that US law and policies have radicalized Puerto Ricans and conceived of them as unprepared and undeserving of rights and full citizenship. This conception has shaped the way that capitalism has worked as a force in shaping the territory’s possibilities throughout the over 120 years of its relationship with the US. While we will engage Puerto Rico’s long history as a US colony, the course will focus, in particular, on the recent history of Puerto Rico. The past decade in Puerto Rico has seen the layered catastrophes of corruption, spiraling debt, hurricanes, earthquakes, and now a global pandemic. As was made glaringly visible when Hurricane Maria hit the territory in September 2017, Puerto Rico’s long-standing colonial relationship with the US continues to have real ramifications for people living there today. Nevertheless, Puerto Ricans have found ways to resist and push back against the constrictions of US colonialism and to try and create the possibilities of a different and better future.

AFR 351U RACE CAPITALISM ENVIRONMENT

This course offers an introduction to environmental politics through the fields of political ecology, critical race studies and eco-feminism. We will examine environmental contestations to understand how humans relate to nature in the context of global racial capitalism and the possibilities for creating a more sustainable world. We will explore how racism is foundational to environmental exploitation and consider why global struggles for racial justice are crucial for protecting both people and the earth. Reflecting principles of environmental justice, Image courtesy of North Caroline Environmental Justice Network the course material respects the lived experiences, leadership and intellectual insights of racialized peoples as a vital source of knowledge

AFR 352Q BLACK GEOGRAPHIES

This course explores the relationship between Blackness and the production (and imagining) of space and place. Specifically, we will critically examine the tensions and possibilities that emerge when Black people are rendered “ungeographic" as a fundamental component of racial capitalism while they are simultaneously creating spaces of freedom under constant threats to Black life. Thinking with texts that span geography, anthropology, sociology, and fiction, we will read place-specific work from across the African diaspora and analyze different forms of media as we grapple with the following broad questions: How do Black people across the diaspora navigate, experience, and produce space even within/alongside processes and structures of domination that threaten Black life? How do our understandings of what is “geographic” shift when Blackness is at the center of inquiry? What theoretical and methodological ruptures or fractures does this create? What possibilities emerge? Situating Blackness as a geographic imperative that is neither static nor simply confined to the built environment and the “natural” world, this course is designed to destabilize our understandings of “geography” and perhaps even “blackness,” while also building a critical vocabulary and practice of seeing what is sometimes rendered invisible or illegible

AFR 370 RACE AND US SOCIAL POLICY

Race is a critical factor that affects the development and implementation of U.S. social policy. While its influence on public policy can be traced to the early colonization of the United States, its relevance continues to be observed in the contemporary period. The relationship between race and social policy is however multi-dimensional. On one hand, perspectives on racial difference can be used to develop policies that create or reinforce social inequality. On the other hand, public policies can be designed to have ameliorative effects that reduce racial and ethnic inequality. This course, therefore, examines how and why race influences various dimensions of U.S. social policy and how U.S social policy influences racial inequality. It begins by reviewing the origins of the development of racial minority status in the United States. Thereafter, it examines policy issues associated with specific domains of social wellbeing (e.g., housing, employment, wealth, the criminal justice system) that are critical for understanding the disadvantage of African Americans and other racial minorities. Where possible, the course draws insights from other societies to examine whether the implications of race for social policy in the United States are unique. Furthermore, it offers opportunities to students for critically thinking through the process of developing rudimentary policy solutions to everyday social problems.

AFR 372F No Matter What: Policing in the United States

This course will explore the history of policing in the United States by examining the beginning of American policing. The course will also include: watch groups; professionalism through reform including community policing and analyzing mass incarceration. The course will incorporate the use of lectures, readings/articles, video, research and extensive class discussions to assist in exploring the impact of policing in the United States. Course Goals: Students enrolled will: Examine the English roots of American policing, Understand watch groups and their evolution including the professionalization of the police through reform, Examine community policing, Analyze mass incarceration

AFR 374D Black Lives Matter

This course will explore the UT Student Movement focusing on the history of student activism on the UT campus as the main unit of the course. The course will incorporate the use of lectures, readings, video, simulation exercises, research and extensive class discussions to assist students as they explore the impact of the UT Student Movement, using The University of Texas at Austin as its case study.

AFR 374E Racism & Inequality Lat Am

In the course “Race and Inequality in Latin America” we will study primordial issues on ethnic and race relations in modern and contemporary Latin America. As such, the course is divided in four topics: i) Nation-building, eugenics, mestizaje and racial democracy; ii) Patterns of race relation in Latin America; iii) Coloniality, racial inequality and poverty; iv) Multiculturalism and affirmative action. The objective of the course is to allow the students to understand the most relevant theoretical debates about patterns of race relations in Latin America, the similarities and difference across the region and current topics for the study of the region, for example, multicultural constitutions and affirmative actions.

AMS 311S GENDERING ASIAN AMERICA

In this course, students will study representations of gender and sexuality in Asian America from the Chinese Exclusion Era to the 21st century. The course readings and discussions will (re)introduce students to key moments of Asian American history — spanning from Chinese Exclusion, Japanese internment camps, the dropping of the atomic bombs, the Vietnam War, and more — while focusing on how these historical moments were represented to the American public. Rather than taking racial and gender representations at face value, I urge students to ask: how does time, place, gender, and sexuality shape our understandings of Asians in America? How have gender and sexuality been used as a means to marginalize Asians/Asian Americans, and how have individuals themselves engaged with these concepts as tools for subject formation and national belongingness? These are the questions that frame Gender in Asian America, and will guide students as they deconstruct the history of Asians in America. The course content will encourage students to think critically about home, nation, and community as it pertains to Asian Americans. However, the ultimate goal of this class is for you all to be able to apply what you’ve learned throughout the semester outside of the classroom — whether that be in your own communities or families.

AMS 311S RACE AND ENVIRONMENTALISMS

None

AMS 311S Capitalism in America

None

AMS 311S IMAGES OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Violent crime is considered a major social problem in the United States today, yet our understanding of crime, criminals, and violence is often filtered through mediated images and cultural influences rather than direct experience. This course examines the relationship between crime, media, and popular culture in historical context. We will explore changing definitions of crime and criminal violence as we examine the ways that mass media and popular culture in the United States reflect and reinforce underlying issues and concerns in the production and sharing of narratives and images of crime and violence across time. The representations of crime and violence offered by the media shape our understanding of criminality, safety, and justice but do not always reflect an accurate reality–and both the quality of and the very audience for these representations are impacted by the development of new technologies. Over the course of this class, we will examine the history of “True Crime” as a primary narrative form in the United States from the colonial period with the advent of the printing press up to the rise of the camera as well as the internet in our own time. This class will trace the roots of this narrative in non-fiction 17th/18th century Puritan execution sermons to 19th century true crime narratives to 20th century gun legends, and finally to our consideration of the camera in documenting racial violence. We will attempt to examine how a culture’s changing relationship to “real life” crime narratives over the last 400 years can help us understand the complex ro

AMS 311S When Topic Is Appropriate

(past topics: American Places of Leisure; Dancing in America)Writing, reading, and discussion on an American studies topic, with emphasis on the evaluation of information, analytical reading, and critical writing.Past Topic - American Places of Leisure - As the 19th century drew to a close, American cities began to give birth to a vibrant new mass culture. Much of this culture manifested itself in new entertainment venues, including amusement parks, zoos, and cinemas. As the century wore on, these entertainment spaces increased in number and complexity, becoming a familiar part of life in America – and in many other countries as well. In this course we will explore the history of these spaces, using them as a lens through which to explore larger currents of cultural change. This course will be divided into three sections. The first will explore the early days of amusement spaces as they arose alongside mass culture in American cities. In the second section of the course we will deal with the new age of amusements that began with the opening of Disneyland in 1955. The final section of the course will deal with the modern era of amusement spaces, an era defined by the globalization of mass amusements. The locations we will be discussing in this class – amusement parks, malls, zoos, and so on – are fun places often understood as frivolous and bereft of meaning. We will be working to peer beneath the surface of these entertaining spaces, uncovering the extremely rich cultural forces that define and drive them and coming to grips with the way they influence American culture. We will touch on a wide range of topics, including race, class, and gender roles, shifting understandings of public and private and man and nature, the rise of globalization, and the emergence of a corporately-driven “convergence culture.” Our ultimate goal is to come to a better understanding of the profound effect seemingly meaningless amusement spaces have on American culture.

ANT 322M Mexican Immigratn Cul Hist

This course seeks to develop a student's understanding of the history of Mexican immigration to the U.S. It will provide an overview of migratory patterns dating back to the late pre-historic period through contemporary times. The focus of the course, however, will be current immigration issues dealing with: 1) causes of Mexican immigration: globalization, Mexican politics, agribusiness, 2) U.S. Law, 3) incorporation, and 4) citizenship.

ANT 324L Global Indigenous Issues

This course examines theoretical and ethnographic issues facing indigenous peoples in the America. It will critically examine debates surrounding terms often taken for granted, such as such as indigeneity, mestizaje, and multiculturalism. The course will also take a historical and ethnographic approach to analyze the ways in which indigenous peoples have been impacted and continue to respond to forces such as colonialism and capitalism in different geographical regions of the Americas. Drawing on topics such as contact and colonial expansion, self-determination and the nation state, gender, ecologies, social movements, and ontologies, the course will explore the lived realities of different groups of people, examine the influence of European contact, and discuss how indigenous peoples are creatively advancing their life projects in different contexts.

ARC 350R Global Housing Challenge

Approximately 2 billion people of the world's population live in substandard housing; 1 billion of these people reside in urban slums (UN Habitat). In the US alone about 40 million people live below the poverty line (UofM National Poverty Center) and 95 million lack adequate housing (Habitat for Humanities). Despite these astounding numbers, the issue of poverty has been absent from public discourse in the same way that substandard housing has generally been absent from conversations in architecture schools. The course will provide students with a comprehensive set of conceptual tools for understanding issues of urban poor communities in developing countries. The focus will be on informal settlement neighborhoods that are viewed by government as illegal and that often lack access to basic infrastructure and services. With 2 billion people living in urban informal settlements, those issues are not only socially relevant, they will be top priority as we move towards a more sustainable built environment. The seminar will look deeper into social sustainability vis a vis environmental sustainability as we prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead.

DES 322 Design and Social Environment

Nothing happens in a vacuum. This course approaches design as a political and socio-cultural practice - as a toolkit for activism by publicly questioning, critiquing, and generating new ways of thinking about the most pressing issues of our day. Through a series of research-driven projects, students will explore the possibilities and the limitations of art and design in addressing complex political and socio-cultural realities. Themes may include but are not limited to race, decolonization, labor laws, surveillance and data-driven systems, incarceration, immigration, climate, conspiracy, health, equality, human rights, socioeconomic equity, education, gender, and other topics of interest to students in this class. The course will introduce students to different possibilities of socially engaged practices, such as making invisible systems legible, translating complex issues to new audiences, and putting theory and critique into practice.

E 343I IMMIGRATION LITERATURE

We will devote ourselves in this course to the study of late twentieth and early twenty-first century novels about immigration, primarily but not exclusively to the United States, from a diverse range of home countries. We will think about these works of fiction within the contexts of U.S. history and literary history; immigration debates in the U.S. in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s; 9/11, terrorism, and surveillance; and the immigration policies of the U.S. presidents in the last three decades, for example. Key questions will include how class, education, gender and sexuality, race, and religion shape the content as well as the form of immigration narratives.

ECO 330T ECON: GENDER RACE ETHNICITY

The objective of this course is three-fold. First, the course will describe in detail the many large and persistent differences in economic outcomes both between the genders and between the major race/ethnicity groups (whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) in the U.S. Second, the course will present and critically discuss the major economic models that have been proposed to explain the between-group differences that we observe. Third, the course will discuss the existing empirical evidence for the models— as well as the dimensions in which the models fall short and the important questions that the existing models do not yet answer or address.

ECO 333K Development Economics

Introduction to theories of economic development; discussion of leading issues.

ECO 333L DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION

This course has two big themes. The first theme is understanding poverty and some of its determinants. The second theme is a selection of what can be done to fight poverty by policy makers or people. We will study different types of anti-poverty programs (i.e., what policy-makers can do to reduce others’ poverty) and think about migration (i.e., a powerful action that people can take to reduce their own poverty).

ECO 344M MIGRATION ECONOMICS POLICY

This course focuses on ve key topics in the economics of international immigration to the USA. These are: WHAT (the US immigration policy, how it changed during the XX century, and how it differs from other countries'); WHY (the determinants of migration); WHO (migrant self-selection); WHAT HAPPENS (the effects of immigration in both the host and the home country). Unauthorized immigration to the USA. If we have time, we will also discuss the economic impact of immigration on the sending countries.

ECO 370E ECON GENDER RACE ETHNICITY

The objective of this course is three-fold. First, the course will describe in detail the many large and persistent differences in economic choices and outcomes between men and women and across the major race/ethnicity groups (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) in the U.S. Second, the course will present the main theoretical models that economists have used to try to explain/understand these observed between-group differences. Third, the course will discuss selected empirical research in economics on the causes and consequences of these disparities.

EDC 319 Qual Inq/Edu for Soc Change

Examines the socio-historical contexts of education for minoritized groups in the U.S. through empirical approach of critical qualitative inquiry in education. Explores qualitative and historical studies in which students, teachers, administrators, and parents seek to change or reform their educational experiences. Entails research in schools and non-school settings.

EDP 350E Intro: Life Span Development

Exposition of theories of personality, research literature on mental health and character development, applications of principles and theories to the educative enterprise; applications of personality theory to the guidance of children and youth.

EDP 354J Psychology of Race/Racism

This course reviews the history and evolution of the construct of race as a psychological and social phenomenon. While the course will be largely social psychological in nature, the insidiousness of race in practically every sphere of life necessitates a multidisciplinary approach. As such, in addition to readings from psychology, students will also be exposed to ideas in the areas of anthropology, sociology, journalism, and biology. The course will emphasize a theoretical and conceptual approach toward understanding the psychology of racial thinking.

EDP 376T 3-DISABILITY CULTURE IN EDUCTN

Course Objectives This course has the following objectives: Objective 1: Understand disability as a culture. Objective 2: Think critically about language surrounding disability. Objective 3: Consider how technological spaces influence identity development. Objective 4: Examine the relationship between education, family and work.

EDU 331 RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

Focus on community engagement and social justice issues related to schooling access and equity. Includes a field-based component that promotes practices needed to implement restorative practices in multiple settings.

GOV 312L Philpot: Race, Media and Politics

GOV 312L Issues & Policies in Amer Gov

Analysis of varying topics concerned with American political institutions and policies, including the United States Constitution. Fulfills second half of legislative requirement for government.

GOV 312L When Topic is Appropriate

None

GOV 314 Latino Pol:Voter ID/Health/Edu

This course is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the tools researchers use when examining key topics in Latino politics. Students will focus on contemporary issues affecting Latinos and immigrants, including, but not limited to, policies that: 1) regulate state elections (e.g. voter identification laws); 2) expand or constrict access to health care; and 3) offer in-state tuition to undocumented students. Students will also become familiar with the research designs and methods used in contemporary social science research. The course will provide students with the knowledge and tools to become capable consumers of social science literature. Students will learn basic methods that can be applied to many disciplines; however, case studies in this course will come from Latino politics. While the focus of this course is on policy issues that affect MexicanAmericans and/or Latinos, students will learn that policy often has widespread impact on many groups.

GOV 358 Introduction to Public Policy

This course will examine the politics and history of public policymaking in America. We will examine how policy is made, and whether LBJ’s dicta that “good policy is good politics” holds. We will study contemporary policy challenges, especially focusing on financial and budgetary challenges, and health care. We will also examine education, environment, and justice. Since good policies can only come about with good information, properly interpreted, the course will emphasize the roles of ideas and information in the policy process: how elected and appointed political leaders use it to formulate and implement public policies.

GOV 365N INTL DEV AND GLOBAL JUSTICE

This course examines the question of global development. The key questions may be summarized as follows: What is global development? How should it be defined and measured? What patterns of development can be discerned across countries, within countries, and through time? What explains variation in development? Is it geography, colonialism, macroeconomic policy and international political economy, agricultural policy, demography, health policy, human capital and education policy, political institutions, culture, some admixture of the above, or something else entirely? What is the impact of development? Does it make people happier, more fulfilled? What is our responsibility vis-à-vis those who are less privileged?

GOV 370V The Politics of Health Care

Health care is currently one of the most hotly debated topics in American politics. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the issues and controversies that surround healthcare policy and the American healthcare system. The course will facilitate this by first establishing a theoretical and substantive framework regarding various aspects of policymaking and the American healthcare system. Upon the establishment of this framework, the course will then delve into the examination of a number of specific health problems and the controversies surrounding them. Students should leave this class with a working knowledge of the American policy making process, substantial knowledge of the American healthcare system and an understanding of the roots of current debates in American healthcare policy.

GOV 371D Race, Policing & Incarceration

In a number of American states, almost 25% of black men are not allowed to vote due to a felony conviction. Researchers have estimated that almost 70% of young black men will, at some point in their lives, spend at least one night behind bars. Decades after the height of the Civil Rights Movement, we are confronted by glaring inequalities between black Americans and white Americans that can be observed over a myriad of indicators that cover health, employment, income, education, and incarceration. We will explore racial gaps through the numbers, considering their origins and their social and political consequences. In particular, the course will focus on the criminal justice system (from everyday police patrols to the death penalty) both historically and as it operates today. A major goal is to understand how inequalities in criminal justice influence elections and alter the state of representation in Congress and other representative bodies in the United States.

GRG 321F FOOD IN THE RACIALIZED CITY

Explore a variety of issues related to producing, accessing, and consuming food in city spaces in the context of racial inequities. Investigate and question constructs such as "food" and "city" as means of exploring different points of view and approaches to studying not only food and cities but also various approaches to food justice.

GRG 356 RACE, SOCIAL JUST & THE CITY

This class looks at some of the major forces—especially economic and political—shaping the culture of American cities from their colonial beginnings, through the industrial era, to the post-industrial, "creative" cities of today. We will be paying special attention to how the building and rebuilding of US cities affected different groups differently, and how marginalized people have contested dominant elites and attempted to make cities more democratic and equitable. We'll draw on examples from cities around the country but also focus on how we can see these dynamics right here in Austin.

GRG 356T Intl Development in Africa

How are popular representations of Africa reflected in development policy? What are the historical and globalized roots of ‘underdevelopment’ in Africa? What were the outcomes of big dam and fishing projects in Ghana and Tanzania? Is global warming the cause of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan? What are the ethics around diamond mining in Sierra Leone and oil drilling in Nigeria? How have women combined feminist and environmentalist efforts in Kenya? How has the ‘War on Terror’ reshaped African geopolitics? This course critically examines the major approaches to development on the African continent with a focus on African resources. We will review how these approaches are connected to and underpinned by historically persistent representations, policies and political inequalities and the ways in which they have changed over time. Using a case study approach we will consider one major resource each week, from water to wildlife, forests to farms, airways to rangelands, and including a consideration of African bodies themselves as resources and sites of development. Through these examples we will explore, discuss and debate the ideological foundations of varied development approaches and their political, social and economic outcomes for African people and places. In doing so we will also examine the ways in which African people and places are linked to broader international process. Finally we will pay attention each week to the ways in which dominant development practices have been taken up, resisted and reworked by Africans in varied ways.

H S 330 Health Care Policy in U.S.

An overview of the health care system in the United States and analysis of health policy issues primarily from the perspective of health economics.

H S 331C COVID SOCL IMPACT PUB DILEM-WB

Welcome to HS 340! The primary objective of this course is to offer students a broad overview of how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped and is shaped by our social lives. We will explore the pandemic through multiple social, cultural, and economic lenses. We will begin by learning how globalization has influenced transportation 2 networks and economic relationships that shape infectious disease transmission in the 21st century and consider the effectiveness of different public health efforts to curb the spread of this virus. How do the public health efforts of different nations and international governing bodies reveal different cultural values, political realities, and healthcare systems? Domestically, we will evaluate the American healthcare system, considering how a patchwork of players—the CDC and other public health agencies, hospital networks, professional organizations, insurance companies, private health industries, government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, and individual emergency medical and other healthcare personnel—all worked to shape our individual and collective responses to the pandemic. We will examine ever-changing public health messaging, public health recommendations, and consider the factors that led to a lack of sufficient PPE and equipment at the outset of the pandemic. Adopting a social epidemiological perspective, we will also explore how existing social vulnerabilities shape one’s exposure to the virus, the severity of complications from pre-existing conditions, and long-term health outcomes from the virus. We will learn why low-income and racial/ethnic minority groups are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, and also why they are more likely than white and affluent populations to suffer serious complications and die from the disease. An investigation of the social determinants of health will help us understand these disparate outcomes. We will also consider the economic systems that led to the pandemic, but also the economic effects that have emerged since COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how political factors have shaped public health messaging, healthcare delivery, and individual behaviors throughout the pandemic. The pandemic brought widespread economic change as it shifted global markets and corporate forecasts at the macro level, but it also increased the ranks of the unemployed and those living in poverty, highlighting how some populations were especially socioeconomically vulnerable in the American economy. Politically, we will delve into perceptions of individual liberty and collective responsibility, considering how economic privilege and long-standing political divisions shaped our responses to lockdown orders, stay-at-home recommendations and requests to follow other precautionary measures such as social distancing and wearing facemasks. How did our political leaders—our president, state governors, members of Congress and local elected officials—capitalize on long-standing political 3 divisions and racial bias to influence our individual and collective responses to the pandemic? Throughout the semester we will also explore myriad unintended health consequences and new social revelations brought to light by the pandemic. COVID19 amplified collective anxieties, revealing barriers to mental health care, the importance of under-developed telemedicine, and the lack of social safety nets in the U.S. Most saliently, the pandemic also served as the backdrop for a national movement demanding justice for Black people and communities of color more generally. “Racism as a public health crisis“ became a rallying cry as diverse protesters ignored social distancing recommendations to tackle a health problem arguably far more menacing than COVID-19. We will conclude by analyzing how vaccines have been developed and distributed, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is managed by the new presidential administration. While our exploration will be centered on the U.S. experience, we will also spend several class sessions decentering the COVID-19 narrative and considering the pandemic in other nations around the world.

H S 340 HEALTH DISPARITIES

None

HDF 343 Human Development in Minority/Immigrant Families

Examines the theories of human development and cultural psychology as they apply to the developmental issues of minority and immigrant children and families.

HDF 347 Socioecon Probs of Families

An analysis of socioeconomic factors affecting the economic well-being of families and individuals.

HDF 378K DIVERSITY IN HUMAN DEVLPMNT

(Taken from syllabus; available on Box): This course examines fundamental, conceptual, and empirical knowledge regarding dimensions of diversity as they relate to human development. We will draw from a social constructivist perspective and explore how issues related socially constructed categories inform human development as well as systems of oppression and privilege. We will also examine how experiences related to socially constructed categories influence identities, values, and behaviors. The overall goal of this course is to equip students with awareness, knowledge, and skills that students can apply in their personal and professional life as students navigate an increasingly diverse and globalized society.

HIS 322S HIST OF GENETICS EUGENICS

This course will explore the diverse variety of genetic and eugenic practices that began to emerge early in the 20th century and which remain, in contemporary reprogenetic practice, of vital importance today. While the most famous examples of eugenic policy remain those implemented in Nazi Germany and the infamous sterilization laws in the US and elsewhere during the inter-war years, in reality eugenic science influenced research, law, and social policy on every continent throughout the 20th century. Its legacy is often to be seen in today’s genetic research. The course will trace the radical changes in the field of genetics since the early the 20th century and consider the debate over the relationship between eugenics and modern genetics. The course will range across a wide geographical area, looking at eugenic and genetic practice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well as Europe and North America.

HIS 346V 20th-Cen Rural Latin America

Examines causes of some of the unresolved conflicts affecting Latin America today, including the social-agrarian relationships linking landlords and campesinos; the role of the state and the impact of official ideologies involving indigenous people; religion and the Catholic Church; the history of rural institutions; and the success or failure of land reforms. Only one of the following may be counted: History 346V, 363K (Topic: Twentieth-Century Rural Latin America), Latin American Studies 366 (Topic 19).

HIS 365G HISTORY OF AMER HIGHER ED-WB

Topics include American higher education’s 17th, 18th, and early 19th century legacies; the rise of the research university; expanding access to higher education and efforts to exclude or redirect the college aspirations of women, African Americans, and Jews; the advent of mass higher education; colleges and the courts; the history and future of educational technology; contemporary challenges involving access, affordability, finances, and learning and employment outcomes; economic and racial stratification within higher education; and shifts in pedagogy, curricula, and campus life.

HIS 365G HISTORY OF AMER HIGHER ED

As higher education enters into an unpredictable post-pandemic future, it is beset with a host of challenges involving access, affordability, equity, and student success. If we are to successfully meet those challenges, we would do well to look to the past. After all, history is the only guide we have to the decisions that will shape the future, and, as we shall see, the issues higher education faces today aren’t nearly as novel as many assume. Higher education remains our society’s best hope for addressing the most profound challenges of our time: stagnating incomes, worsening economic inequalities, productivity slowdowns, persistent racial disparities, and deepening political partisanship. But if our colleges and universities are to fulfill their educational, research, and social and developmental functions, and serve as an engine of economic mobility and local and regional growth, these institutions will need to adapt to a rapidly shifting reality. In this class, we shall ask how our colleges and universities can become more affordable, sustainable, resilient, how they can better serve the many Americans who have lost their jobs, and how they can bring all students to graduation and a successful post-graduation future. Our class will also explore how today’s colleges and universities can contain cost, stabilize institutional finances, enhance equity, and regain the public’s support. Over the course of the semester, we shall examine the shifting higher ed landscape, the lessons to be learned from higher ed’s history, the changes occurring in the make-up of the student body. In addition, we will also look at efforts to improve the quality of teaching and make leverage new technologies. We will discuss a series of flash points that have provoked intense public controversy: Over intercollegiate athletics, fraternities and sororities, political correctness, and admissions practices. We will conclude by analyzing higher education’s likely post-pandemic future.

LAH 350 31-IMMIGRATION LITERATURE

LAH 350 Inqlty In the Us Educ Sys

*Restricted to Liberal Arts Honors students.

For centuries many have seen the United States as the land of opportunity. Free public education is often seen as one of the key pillars of opportunity in the U.S. Yet, the quality of public education varies greatly depending on the neighborhood and characteristics of the student. In this class, we will examine how inequality has developed and is maintained within the American public education system. We will pay particular attention to the role of school funding and residential segregation in maintaining disparities in educational quality. We will also learn and critique existing theories of educational inequality such as meritocracy, stereotype threat, and oppositional culture. Next, we will explore the effect of students’ traits on how they interact with and experience school in the U.S. Race/ ethnicity, gender, social class, and special educational needs are just a sample of the attributes that we will investigate. We will conclude by exploring current efforts to combat inequality within the public education system through school choice, magnet programs, accountability campaigns, community-based school reform, and other efforts.

LAH 350 SOC INEQ & HEALTH IN U.S.

M E 379M Issues in Humanitarian Engineering

This course examines the opportunities for engineering solutions to positively impact marginalized groups such as low- income communities, disaster areas, and refugee camps. The course will take place in Paris, France and will include visits to various humanitarian and development organizations. A two-day field trip is planned to Geneva where the class will visit the International Federation of the Red Cross and UN Refugee Agency, each of which will provide specialists to talk on a number of different subjects. Topics considered in the class will include the challenges faced in working with marginalized communities, appropriate technology for these communities, key humanitarian organizations and their roles in aiding communities. Class time will be divided between formal lectures by the instructor and guest speakers, field trips, and student presentations on key topics. What will I learn? Main skills and attitudes to be developed: • Awareness and knowledge of how engineering applies to marginalized communities • Awareness and knowledge of challenges faced in working with marginalized communities • Awareness and knowledge of major humanitarian aid organizations • Knowledge of appropriate technology for vulnerable communities • Expertise in literature and web research and evaluation of sources • Experience in making concise and clear presentations

MAS 308 Intro to Mex Amer Policy Stds

An introduction to the basics of policy analysis, employing demographic and empirical information on the Mexican American and Latino populations in the United States. Current policy issues such as bilingual education, affirmative action, the English-only movement, immigration, Latino consumers, Latino entrepreneurship, and NAFTA.

MAS 311 Ethnicity & Gender: La Chicana

Among the many catalysts that centralized the narratives of Chicanas into the discourse the U.S. Southwest/Mexican Borderlands, the 1971 La Conferencia de Mujeres por la Raza in Houston inspired how Chicanas/Xicanas, xicanindias, afroxicanas, mestizas, indigenous, Mexican American, and brown women defined themselves, asserted their roles and identities, and shared their stories. This course privileges the stories, struggles, contestations, imaginations, writings, and accomplishments of Chicanas in the United States in the mid-twentieth and early twentieth-first centuries. Through a close examination of literature, and attention to historical and theoretical materials, we will create a growing understanding of the significance of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, language, spirituality, and citizenship in affecting the daily lives and social worlds of Chicanas. By end of the semester, we will also gain a complex insight into the importance of how Chicana feminism, Xicanisma, intersectionality, migration, borders, and community are formative in the Chicana experience(s).

MAS 337F LATINA SEXUALITY AND HEALTH

This course provides an overview of Latinas’ health issues presented in the context of a woman’s life, beginning in childhood and moving through adolescence, reproductive years, and aging. The approach to Latinas' health is broad, taking into account economic, social, and human rights factors and particularly the importance of women’s capacities to have good health and manage their lives in the face of societal pressures and obstacles. Particular attention will be given to critical issues of Latinas' health such as: poverty; unequal access to education, food, and health care; caregiving; and violence. Such issues as maternal mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, teen-pregnancy, body image, gender-based violence, the effects of traditional practices and the effective solutions being forged to combat them. Central to the course materials and discussions will be consideration of how race, ethnicity, class, culture, and gender shape Latinas’ health outcomes. The course will provide a mixture of lecture, media viewing, in-class critical thinking assignments, and out-of-class readings. The class will be interactive. After a general overview the first week, each week will be devoted to a particular phase of a Latinas' life and/or a health issue related to that phase, with one session being introductory (occasionally involving guest resource people) and the other being primarily discussion based, with students leading parts of the discussions. A couple of texts will be required and a Course Reader (CR) will be available on the web (in Canvas). Additional materials may be posted on the class website or handed out in class.

MAS 337F LATINA FEMINISM AND HEALTH

This course is designed with two objectives in mind. First, it is intended to foster student expertise in the core texts and theories of Latina feminism; and second, it is intended to deepen students’ analytic and research skills by examining how Latina feminism provides new insight into one specific, urgent social concern: health justice. As a result, the course begins with an overview of Latina feminist theory (with a focus on issues of health), and continues with an analysis of Latina expressive culture (film, music, visual art, and literature) that is concerned with themes of health justice. Topics addressed throughout the semester are likely to include many of the following: mental health, diabetes, sexuality, intimate partner violence, body love and fat activism, reproductive justice, environmental justice, safety at work, and transgender health. At the beginning of the semester, students will select a health-related topic for independent research, and assignments throughout the semester will be geared toward the creation of a final research project focused on that topic.

MAS 362 Mexican Amer Policy Stds Smnr

This course examines public policy and the policymaking process in the United States, specifically in relation to the Mexican-American and Latino communities. It begins by examining policymaking in the United States, including issues such as the definition of public policy, how policy choices are made, how policy reflects values, agenda setting, policy formation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation. We will then discuss policy issues important to Mexican Americans and Latinos at both the state and national levels, including such topics as immigration, education, and health care.

MAS 374 US IMM POLCY STORIES MIGRTN

The story of racial and ethnic politics in the United States is one of struggle, resistance, and change. While many sought to migrate to the U.S., its doors have not always been open to everyone. Who can enter the United States, and who can become an American is a political and social question that has different answers throughout history. In this course, we will cover the role of immigration policy in defining the face of American politics and society. From Asian exclusion, landmark immigration reform in 1965, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, to more recent policies like the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility act of 1995 and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, we will discuss how these policies have impacted migration into the United States and their impact on defining who can become an American. We will combine the history of immigration policy with memoirs of migration, immigration policy, and incorporation, providing a fuller picture of how immigrants are affected by these policies are treated in the United States.

MAS 374 POLICING LATINIDAD

How does the criminal justice system make itself felt in the everyday lives of Latinxs? From border enforcement, to stop and frisk, to the phenomenon of mass incarceration, many Latinxs find themselves and their communities enmeshed within a dense web of surveillance, punishment, and detention. This interdisciplinary course will examine the historical, political, economic, and social factors that have, in many ways, criminalized Latinidad and/or rendered Latinidad illegal. We will examine how race, class, education, gender, sexuality, and citizenship shape the American legal system and impact how Latinxs navigate that system. This course will pay special attention to the troubled and unequal relationshi between Latinxs and the criminal justice apparatus in the United States and how it has resulted in the formation of resistant political identities and activist practices.

NTR 365 5-PRIN APP COMMUN ENGAGEMENT

Implement community engagement activities, such as gardening, cooking, and nutrition lessons within a school or other community environment with the goal of improving nutrition and health. Explore evidence-based nutrition programs, such as fundamental principles of food gardening with an emphasis on central Texas, application of skills in the university teaching garden and school gardens, and application of nutrition curriculum in a school setting.

P A 325 Introduction to Public Policy

The Bridging Disciplines Program in Public Policy has two goals: to introduce students to a substantive arena of policy, and to familiarize students with the policy-making process. The Fall 2014 Introduction will focus on three of the 20th century’s most transformative policies: the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1965 Immigration Reform Act. (Future introductory courses may focus on a different policy arena such as environmental policy or national security.)The policy changes of the 1960s were intended to correct problems created by earlier policies. Thus, we will begin the course with a brief journey through the nation’s history. At every point, men made choices (women tended to be excluded from politics and policy making until the 20th century) based on their personal interests, prejudices, and moral beliefs. At every point, they could have made different choices. For example, the Constitution did not have to perpetuate slavery or exclude Indians from citizenship, and there was nothing inevitable (or “Biblically ordained”) about racial classifications. We will spend the first few class sessions reviewing the choices that led to racial discrimination, the exclusion of Asians, and limits on naturalized citizenship. Then, we will move to the early 1950s. That was when a black woman’s refusal to yield her bus seat gave rise to the modern civil rights movement. It also was when Congress eliminated racial restrictions on naturalized citizenship, and when the Supreme Court struck down the Texas Democratic Party’s white primary system. This leads to the modern civil rights movement and the passage and implementation of the new policies. Toward the end of the course, we will look at the effects of the new policy regime and at current controversies over immigration reform, voting rights and equal opportunity.

S W 310 Introduction to Social Work & Social Welfare

Introduction to the profession of social work and its roles in the social welfare system, with emphasis on social problems, society's historical response, and contemporary proposed solutions.

S W 311 Criminal Justice System

During the last few years no part of American life has generated more concern than rising rates of crime, particularly violent crime and crimes by adolescents and children. This course exam- ines responses to crime and the characteristics of the criminal justice system in the United States, its various components and current challenges to the system today. Attention is paid to the evolution of the system and comparison of problems and approaches both historically and cross-culturally. Particular emphasis is placed upon aspects of the system under change including various approaches to policing, victim assis- tance, sentencing and incarceration alternatives and the expanding role of community in protection, polic- ing, and corrections. The course will stress efforts at prevention, community involvement, and alternatives in corrections. The educational experience provides students with the opportunity to be aware of personal values; and analyze ethical dilemmas and the ways in which these affect victims, offenders and all citizens. The course includes theories and knowledge of biological, sociological, cultural, psychological, and legal domains across the life span; the range of social systems in which people live (individual, family, group, organizational, and community); and the ways in which social systems promote or deter people in their involvement with the criminal justice system. Guest speakers will be drawn from various components of the system including the police, the courts, and the correctional institutions. Class material will include an overview of the professions in the field and information about career opportunities

S W 360K SUICIDE PREVENTION

This course will examine the public health problem of suicide, with specific attention to prevention, intervention, and postvention related to micro, mezzo, and macro approaches. Students will gain an understanding of suicide epidemiology and underlying theory, as well as risk and protective factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This course will familiarize students with evidence-based practices and ethical considerations with clients engaging in suicidal thoughts and behaviors, including learning directly from individuals with lived experience with suicidality. Students will also learn about the current state and national strategies for suicide prevention, as well as policies related to suicide. Upon completion of this course, based on the completion of all readings and projects outlined in the syllabus, students will gain skills in assessment and management of suicide risk, intervention and treatment techniques with suicidal clients, and postvention approaches with survivors of suicide loss. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Understand the epidemiology and theories of suicide, as well as the various models of suicide prevention. 2. Understand risk and protective factors (at multiple levels) for suicide and identify and understand which social groups are at high risk for suicide. 3. Understand the importance of developing a therapeutic alliance for effectively working with suicidal clients. 4. Demonstrate the ability to actively listen to suicidal clients. 5. Demonstrate reflecting skills necessary to build rapport and trust with suicidal clients. 6. Be able to critically evaluate, select, and apply evidence-based suicide risk screening and assessment. 7. Understand, select and modify appropriate suicide intervention strategies based on continuous clinical assessment. 8. Learn about development and implementation of interventions for individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

S W 360K African American Family

Overview of historical and contemporary issues facing African American families and children. Social service delivery to African American families and communities is emphasized.

SOC 307J EDUCATION AND SOCIETY

This course introduces students to the sociological study of education. The overarching goal of this class is to enhance students’ understanding of how the educational system works, how schooling shapes the opportunities available to children and adolescents, and how educational attainment influences the lives and wellbeing of adults. This course will begin by introducing various sociological perspectives on education and an overview of the history of the American educational system. We will then explore the myriad factors that shape achievement and learning, beginning when children are young, considering such topics as school readiness, early childhood education, and the role of parents and caregivers in shaping educational opportunities. As we consider older children, our focus will shift toward questions involving the significance of schools, peers, and communities, and topics such as youth culture, identity issues, bullying, truancy, social media, violence in schools, and college culture. We will spend a considerable amount of time exploring differential access to educational opportunities along race, class, and gender lines, and how these social variables shape student experiences and future outcomes. We will also explore the links between educational stratification and employment, income, relationships, health, parenting behaviors, and other outcomes. Finally, throughout the course we will keep an eye on recent debates in and challenges to the educational system in the U.S. including educational reform, the evaluation of teachers and teacher tenure, the charter school movement, and differences between public and private schools at all educational levels

SOC 307K Fertility and Reproduction

Why do birth rates rise and fall? How can the U.S. have both record rates of childlessness as well as the highest rates of teen childbearing and unwanted pregnancy in the industrialized world? Why does educating women lower birth rates faster than any population control program in the Third World? This course will explore when, why, how, and with whom Americans bear children, and how we compare to other developed and developing countries in the world. Students will analyze the social control of reproduction and the struggle for reproductive justice, the rapid rise of nonmarital childbearing in the U.S. and other countries, infertility and its treatments, the ethics of surrogacy, foreign adoption, the politics of pregnancy and childbearing, risks of maternal mortality in developed and developing countries, race, class and infant mortality in the U.S., and the rapid aging and population decline of rich countries (including Japan, Italy, and Spain) where women have basically gone on “birthstrikes”.

SOC 307L Gender/Race/Class Amer Soc

This course examines the intersection of gender, race, class, and sexuality in the United States. Drawing on sociological research and analysis, we investigate how these identities operate not only as ways of categorizing people, but as interrelated structures that shape our experiences, life chances, and social worlds. Inequities and oppressions pertaining to body size, citizen status, religion, ethnicity, and disability are also addressed. Attending to the various ways that social construction rationalizes power imbalances in institutions (e.g., work, family, education, health, media, the carceral system) is a key focus. We conclude with movements for social change.

SOC 307Q ENVIR INEQUALITY HEALTH

This course will examine the social roots and impacts of environmental contamination and natural disasters, with particular focus on how environmental health inequalities are linked to race, class, gender, and nation, and how residents of areas prone to environmental risks respond to hazards. Throughout the semester, we will explore the interactions between humans and the environment, and discuss factors of human-built systems that create environmental inequalities, and therefore health disparities. We will analyze global and local case studies to examine key areas of environmental inequality, including toxic waste, natural and industrial disasters, food systems, and water and land access. By the end of the semester, students will have a broad understanding of: the social nature of environmental inequalities, the history of the concept of environmental justice, how environmental risks are distributed globally, the role of the state in producing and mitigating environmental health risks, and how social movements frame environmental health issues and environmental inequality.

SOC 308S Intro to Health and Society

SOC 321K SOCIOLOGY OF STEM-WB

Sociologists empirically study and develop theories about the human social experience. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) play an important role in how we experience our lives. Alarms wake us up. Chemotherapy can help rid bodies of cancer. Cars allow us to move around more efficiently than on foot or by horse and buggy. Birth control pills allow women to prevent pregnancies. In this course we will use sociology lens to gain a deeper appreciation for the persistent challenges in STEM fields. Specifically, we will critically assess power differentials in terms of gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, and SES as they relate to various STEM fields. To do this, we’ll: Discuss how history, social forces, and social institutions work in concert to shape individuals and how individuals shape society; Understand that what we view as “objective reality” is often constructed and maintained through social interactions; Begin to understand the value of research-based information in interpretations of complex social problems; Become familiar with the research methods used by sociologists, and be able to identify reliable research and findings; Discuss broad trends that influence rates, trends, and decisions made by individuals who have constrained choices; Use sociology to better explain patterns and issues in STEM Sociology of STEM is a critical and sociological exploration of STEM. The focus is on understanding the inequalities that exist and persist in the fields of STEM. We will use a sociology lens to explore, for example, sexual harassment of women in science, and read about the treatment of women in entry, lab, and executive positions, despite years of "progress" toward social and occupational equity. Students will explore what an equitable social and work environment would look like given research-based, sociology literature. Students will also produce a sociology-based diversity plan for a STEM organization/company, complete with actionable steps. The diversity plan can take the form of a handbook or class presentation, but is a project that will be submitted, reviewed by the instructor and peers, and revised several times as we discuss new material and related topics in the class.

SOC 321K NGOs Humanitarian Aid/Hlth

The course examines the health aspects of humanitarian aid with particular emphasis on the part of nongovernmental organization (NGOs) in the process. By focusing on NGOs and their work the course is designed to inform students about salient issues within humanitarian aid such as the interplay between aid and politics, conflict-related crises, and the effectiveness of development assistance. We will begin by familiarizing the students with the basic concepts and challenges related to humanitarian aid. We then continue with the health aspects of humanitarian aid, looking at public health and preventive care. Next, we examine these health aspects more closely while focusing on the agents of humanitarian aid implication- the nongovernmental organizations. Here we will study their work by themes, looking at: refugees, preventive care, sustainability of aid, non-state actors, trauma, disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and collaboration with other partners in the field.

SOC 321L Sociology of Education

Education as a societal institution, with emphasis on the United States educational system: how the system works; the effects of the system; recent changes.

SOC 321R Sociology of Race and Work

Asian American scholar Lisa Lowe notes that contrary to liberal and Marxian notions, labor is never abstract. Instead, individuals’ racial and gender characteristics deeply shape how labor markets emerge, the ways by which workers get slotted into the world of work, and how skills are evaluated. This perspective shapes the backbone of this undergraduate seminar, which is a critical examination of work over the 20th and 21st centuries through a gendered, racial lens. Jobs are gender segregated; men and women’s work is evaluated differently; and, women’s work—often as important as that of men—is remunerated at lower levels. And in all of this, race matters. Note: The purpose of this course is to sociologically examine concepts such as labor markets, globalization, care work, sex work, and gender/ racial segregation of the work place. This course is cross-listed with Asian American Studies and Women’s Studies.

SOC 322J Economic Sociology of Hlth

This course provides a look at the economics of health and health care through a sociological lens. In neoclassical economics, rational behavior and market transactions provide an efficient allocation of goods and services. From a sociological perspective, markets are social institutions that are shaped by the cultural, political, and historical environments in which they operate. This course will examine how the multidimensional nature and distribution of health and health care are shaped by a variety of social and economic factors. Throughout the course, students will gain an understanding of the power of incentives, markets, and cost-benefit analysis, as well as the limits of these tools, in creating effective health care policy. The first part of the course will examine how social environment shapes health and health behaviors and how health disparities are viewed from sociological and economic standpoints. The second part of the course will focus on the institutions that regulate access to health care and the historical developments that led to these arrangements. Topics include: - Gender, race, and class differences in health - The creation and reproduction of health disparities - Health behavior and externalities - The demand and supply of health care - Moral hazard, adverse selection, and health care insurance - Health insurance and the labor market - Problems of uninsurance - History of health care reform - Comparative health policies.

SOC 322U US Immigration

Immigration patterns have significantly affected the development of U.S. society. No country accepts more immigrants than the United States; yet, the history of US immigration is dotted with policies to restrict immigration. In the 1990s, the United States experienced a record number of new legal immigrants (9.8 million), primarily from Asia and Latin America (Mexico), breaking the 1900 – 1909 record of 8.2 million, and in 2000-2009 the number of immigrants admitted again set a new record (10.3 million), which increased in the 2010s to 10.6 million. But at the same time, the United States has been deporting record numbers of migrants. This course uses a sociological perspective to gain an understanding of the social forces that drive migration to the United States, how migrants organize their migration, and the development of US immigration policies.

SOC 325L Sociology of Criminal Justice

This course is in two parts. The first will provide an introduction to the American criminal justice system, its policies and procedures. The primary focus will be on how the criminal justice system functions. This will include some discussion of crime and its correlates, policing, the court system, and corrections. The second part – which in my mind is the whole point -- traces where criminal justice policy has been, what it has accomplished, and where it should go in order to effectively prevent crime and promote public safety, and reduce recidivism, victimization, and cost. The primary focus of where we go from here is mainly on fundamentally changing or reinventing policing, pretrial, prosecution, indigent defense, the courts, and sentencing.

SOC 333K Sociology of Gender

Inequality between the sexes; men's and women's changing roles in society.

SOC 335R REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE & RACE

Access to reproductive care is the most significant indicator of social inequality. The rights to have children, or not, and parent are deeply stratified across societies. And childhood inequalities have persistent, life-long health effects. In this course we will examine reproductive outcomes for women in order to study social justice. Reproductive justice is defined “as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” Building from Loretta Ross, SisterSong, and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, our working definition of reproduction justice for this course encompasses diverse families’ rights to reproduction, processes of becoming pregnant and giving birth, the right to give birth to a child with disabilities, the right to prenatal care and child care. Taking our cue from reproductive justice activists and scholars, we will consider the complete physical and mental well-being of women (broadly defined), children, and their families which can potentially be achieved when they have the economic, social and political power, and resources to make healthy decisions about their sexuality, and reproduction. Reproductive justice is almost always out of reach because resources are unevenly distributed, based on race, gender, sexuality, abilities/ disabilities, citizenship, and social class. As a result, developing and developed nations are racked with inequalities when it comes to reproductive matters. From slavery, access to birth control, stratified reproduction, sex selective abortions, and new reproductive technologies, this course will focus on difficult topics; but, no answers will be provided. The hope is that you will find answers for yourself about what you mean by reproductive justice, and how you think it can be achieved. My aim is that we will emerge at the end of the semester with an open mind regarding health, and a more complicated, empathetic understanding of what reproductive justice means. You will, hopefully, attempt to make reproductive a part of your worldview and everyday life.

SOC 344C RACE SCIENCE RACE SCIENCE

Race science is the pseudoscientific process of using purportedly scientific methods to classify humans into biological racial groups. The use of race science ranges from the classic eugenics practice of measuring cranial capacity as a way of gauging the average intelligence of racial groups to the widespread belief among medical students that black people feel less pain to the increasingly mainstream practice of using genetic ancestry testing to identify one’s “true” race. This course will explore these topics and a wide variety of others. We will do this through paired readings of books and op-eds, where we read one of each from the same author, and in-class discussions culminating in a final research project where students will write their own op-ed and academic research paper. Along the way we will explore strategies for effective writing and hopefully leave the course with a deeper understanding of race and racism and the writing process.

SOC 345D INEQUALITY IN US EDUC SYS

For centuries many have seen the United States as the land of opportunity. Free public education is often viewed as one of the key pillars of opportunity in the U.S. Yet, the quality of public education varies greatly depending on the neighborhood and characteristics of the student. In this class, we will examine how inequality has developed and is maintained within the American public education system. We will learn and critique existing theories of educational inequality such as meritocracy, stereotype threat, and oppositional culture. Next, we will explore the effect of students’ traits on how they interact with and experience school in the U.S. Race/ ethnicity, gender, social class, and special educational needs are just a sample of the attributes that we will investigate. In addition, we will pay particular attention to the role of school funding and residential segregation in maintaining disparities in educational quality. We will conclude by exploring current efforts to combat inequality within the public education system through school choice, accountability campaigns, community-based school reform, and other efforts.

UGS 303 CLASS SCI ETHICS RACE JUST

The efforts of this course are part of a broad educational movement of social justice education wherein educators equip students to analyze, understand, and intervene in systems of oppression in order to advance equity for all people. May be counted towards Ethics Flag requirements.

Public Health

ADV 322 Health Communication

There are three primary areas to be covered for this health communication course: 1. A discussion of health communication theories. Basic health communication theories, such as the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior, will be covered as useful frameworks for approaching the design of health communication campaigns. Other fundamental concepts, such as health literacy, will also be discussed. 2. Instruction in health communication campaign design. This course will also cover the effective development of health communication campaigns. This will range from the process of formative research to developing messages to evaluating campaign effectiveness. 3. A review of health communication in the media and trends in health communication. This will include health information in different media (traditional mass media vs. new digital media), embedding of health messages in popular media (e.g., Grey’s Anatomy), health-oriented advertising (e.g., direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising), and coverage of media controversies related to health (e.g., the link between vaccines and autism). The overall objective for the course is to introduce students to a range of health communication topics, supplementing existing health and communication knowledge with new contexts and communication techniques. The course will also provide practical experience designing health communication campaigns, including strategies for evaluating the success of those campaigns.

ADV 322 HLTH COMM: MSSGS CMPGNS MED

ADV 378 GEO HEALTH EQUITY CLIM CHNG-WB

This course will examine how communities and their partners use advertising and public relations to influence decisions about geohealth in their communities for equitable solutions to the impact of climate change, natural hazards, and natural resource management on the health of their communities. Class members will work in groups to develop alternative advertising and public relations solutions for the communities to tell their stories to influence local, state, and national climate and geohealth policymakers.

AFR 372D Medicine in African History

How do societies understand illness? How do they restore good health? In this course, we explore how communities have confronted disease throughout Africa’s history. During the first six weeks, we read about the changing role of specialist healers since the 1700s, including shamans, malams, nurses, and drug peddlers. The second half of the course turns to the history of specific diseases including malaria, AIDS, and Ebola through regional case studies. Particular emphasis is placed on pre-colonial and traditional healing, medical education, colonial therapeutics, and the impact of environmental change. Throughout the course of the semester, participants will be able to hone their historical research skills through primary source labs. The research labs will incorporate analysis of historical documents and artifacts related to particular aspects of therapeutics and sickness in Africa. Overall, this course offers participants a nuanced, historical perspective on the current health crisis in Africa. Staggering figures place the burden of global disease in Africa; not only AIDS and malaria, but also pneumonia, diarrhea and mental illness significantly affect the lives of everyday people. Studying the history of illness and healing in African societies provides a framework with which to interpret the social, political, and environmental factors shaping international health today. No previous coursework in African history is expected. Course participants will make two oral and written reports on weekly assignments. There will also be one longer research paper (8-10 pages) on the history of a particular health concern.

AMS 311S When Topic Is Appropriate

AMS 370 American Cultural History of Alcohol/Drugs

Most scholars of alcohol and drug use have concentrated upon its physiological aspects. It is clear that addiction and craving have a physical and, in many cases, even a genetic basis. Yet, as many anthropologists and sociologists have pointed out, cultures directly affect the types of drugs used, how they are used, and for what purposes. In addition, one can examine a culture's drug use and attitude toward it and often discover a great deal about its functioning and values. Thus, drug use is not only a cultural product but a key social and historical descriptor. In this course, we will study both how American culture affected the use of drugs and attitudes toward them and how these serve as keys to the changing American intellectual, social, and political landscape.

ANT 324E CULTURE AND HEALTH

This course considers the historical, social, political, economic, and cultural foundations of Western Medicine, and introduces students to alternative health systems. The course also considers the linkage between modern medicine and the construction of modern subjectivity and personhood, and analyzes local and global health disparities based on social, political, and economic inequalities. Readings will include theoretical, historical, and ethnographic texts.

BIO 361 Human Infectious Diseases

Etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and immunobiology of the major microbial diseases, with emphasis on their prevention.

CDI 355.3 Aging and Disability-WB

This course provides an introduction to individuals who are either chronologically older or who may be experiencing functional changes typical of older persons. This course identifies strategies for supports for families, friends, service providers, organizations, and members of the community to improve the lives of older persons. This course will be a mixture of lecture and discussion, and students will learn to understand, evaluate, and interpret scholarly articles on disability. Students will also improve their writing and critical thinking skills.

CMS 330 Interpersonal Health Comm

Have you ever thought about...Why people keep secrets about their health?What it is like to date someone with a chronic illness?How doctors talk to their patients about death?What makes for a successful parent-child conversation about safe sex?All of these questions address examples of interpersonal health communication phenomena. In this course, you will become familiar with fundamental interpersonal communication processes that are involved in managing physical and mental health. Ideally, you will develop an awareness of how communication among friends, relatives, professionals, and others influences people's well-being, and how, in turn, health and illness shape communication and relationship dynamics. Topics covered will include patient identity, managing sensitive health information, social support, family conversations about health issues, and physician communication.

CMS 330D HEALTH DECISION MAKING

Messages about health can be confusing and frustrating at times, yet reassuring and motivating at other times. Family members offer suggestions for exercise, food allergies, and vaccines. Friends do their best to support each other through times of stress and mental health crises. Health care providers try to help us understand probabilities and risks involved in treatment. Advocacy groups work to educate people about social determinants of health. Creating effective, appropriate messages about health is challenging and important. This course is intended to help students learn about the connection between evidence-based health communication practices and evidence-based health decision making. Students will develop skills in making sense of complicated and ambiguous health information, and learn about theoretical concepts that describe and explain how people interact with such health information. Students in this class will also gain experience in analyzing effects of message strategies and will practice communicating about complex health topics in clear and compelling ways. By learning more about health communication research and practice, students will acquire knowledge that makes them better equipped and more empowered to make strategic decisions about both communication and health.

ECO 325K Health Economics

Examines the role and justification for government involvement in the medical care system. Subjects include the special features of medical care as a commodity, the demand for health and medical services, the economic explanations for the behavior of medical care providers, the functioning of insurance markets, federal health insurance programs, and regulation.

ECO 330T Economics of Health

Health care is an exciting and evolving field in which government policies play a vital role. The course is designed for undergraduate students who seek an understanding of how to apply basic microeconomic tools to the study of health and medical care issues. This course will examine the special features of medical care as a commodity, the demand for health and medical care services, the economic explanations for the behavior of medical care providers, the functioning of insurance markets, federal health insurance programs, and regulation. Finally, this course will examine The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Empirical results, current issues, and policy applications will be discussed throughout the course.

EDP 376T 9-Pediatric Psychology and Health Disparities

The goal of this seminar is to examine current research and practice in pediatric psychology. This includes biological, psychological, and social foundations of pediatric conditions, as well as lifespan health conditions related to development in childhood; pediatric health disparities and impact on public health; research methods used in the field; current research findings; the status of empirically supported methods of assessment and treatment; and critical issues facing the field. The first half of the semester will be devoted to general principles of pediatric psychology, while the second half will focus on disease-specific topics (e.g., cancer, asthma, diabetes, obesity), including developmental processes of risk and resilience and prevention/intervention for these conditions.

EDP 376T 3-DISABILITY CULTURE IN EDUCTN

GEO 371T GEOHEALTH

Human health is intertwined with the health of our surrounding environment. As our climate changes or our environment deteriorate, and traditional health trends may become altered. From the increased range of infectious diseases and pandemics, or the threats of vector borne diseases to an increase in heat related mortality, to increases in cancer due to chemical exposure, there is a close relationship between the environment and the health of individuals around the world. This course aims to examine the health impacts that result from climate change and environmental degradation and how the health world has aimed to respond to these changes. The course will examine both historical and contemporary health issues related to environmental changes or degradation. This course, originally developed by Dr. Dev Niyogi in the Jackson School of Geosciences, is interdisciplinary as it not only looks at the “hard science” that results in these changing health outcomes but also examines these issues through lenses of policy, economics, social science, and engineering. This course will arm the student with the ability to critically analyze complex climate, health, and wellbeing and conduct that analysis with data so that they can become literate in the geohealth discipline. It will not only allow students to examine and analyze climate data for application to health studies, but also communicate the intricacies of contemporary and historical literature.

GOV 314 Latino Pol:Voter ID/Health/Edu

GOV 355M GOVT RESPONSES TO COVID-19-WB

This course is a collaboration between UT and Sciences Po Lyon. It will be open to 25 UT students and 25 Sciences Po Lyon students. Group work and interactions between French and American students will be mandatory. All instructions will be done via Zoom and in English, though fluency in other languages maybe helpful (but not at all required). The objective of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of COVID-19 through a public policy lens. How have different governments at various levels reacted to the global pandemic? What are the public health and economic consequences? How has the political discourse shaped public policy on the issue? How has the public policy affected the spread of the virus? How has the vaccine development and rollout gone? We will provide a framework for perspectives and answers that extend beyond the personal or even local, to consider the virus and the public policies that attempted to contain it in a more global way. While nothing like COVID19 has happened in at least the last 100 years, the disciplines of political science and public policy have provided us with a framework to understand the corona virus situation a bit more than the popular media suggests. With this orientation, we will provide a front-row seat to all participants on how the framework and findings from these disciplines change as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused by this virus provides the academy with an incredible opportunity to evaluate government actions even as the consequences continue to unfold. While the COVID-19 crisis has ramifications in lots of disciplines, this course will focus on how the governments – at various levels and around the globe – responded to the pandemic. While our focus will be on the responses of the United States and France, we will place both of these countries in a broader perspective in order to evaluate the decisions made by their national and regional governments. What has become clear since the origins of the virus at the end of 2019 is that it does not abide by national boundaries, though governments around the globe quickly retreated to national policies in hopes of retarding its spread, alleviating its devastating consequences, and vaccinating citizens. Students in Texas and Lyon will be challenged to reflect upon the personal consequences of the virus’s spread while being provided with a framework for understanding how governments responded and the effect of those responses.

GOV 358 Introduction to Public Policy

GOV 370V The Politics of Health Care

GRG 321F FOOD IN THE RACIALIZED CITY

GRG 322D Human Health & the Environment

GRG 325E THE HEALTHY, LIVABLE CITY

Two generations. In this relative blink of an eye, American has gone from being 95% rural to 80% urban. The great urban writer Jane Jacobs noted that cities might be our greatest invention – they are engines of innovation that concentrate talented and creative people and promote economic growth. From a sustainability perspective, cities have the potential to be greener than their suburban or rural counterparts. Density lends itself to energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions per capita, less encroachment on natural habitats, and mass transit use. The data indicates that when it comes to being green, bigger really is better.

GRG 334E Children's Environmental Health

GRG 344K Global Food, Farming, & Hunger

Examination of contemporary transformations in global agro-food systems, with emphasis on the current paradox of epidemic obesity in some parts of the world and enduring hunger in others.

GRG 356 RACE, SOCIAL JUST & THE CITY

GRG 357 Medical Geography

None

GSD 360 GLBLIZATN CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

“Globalization and the Coronavirus Pandemic” presents a fundamental description of the modern globalization process that also incorporates a description of the current Coronavirus pandemic as a phenomenon that is inextricably linked with modern globalization. The globalization process consists of a vast network of man-made systems that produce innumerable kinds of interconnectivity. Some of these systems, such as global airlines and ocean-going ships, carry microorganisms between continents. Other systems, such as international organizations and various forms of governance, can be profoundly affected by the medical calamities that result from the spread of a microorganism like the coronavirus. Global communications technologies function as a megaphone that amplifies the emotional and political effects of the spreading pandemic. Indeed, it has become clear that coronavirus effects have already begun to reverse certain major aspects of the globalization process that have included international cooperation arrangements and the advancement of liberal and democratic values and procedures. The spread of the coronavirus also poses a mortal threat to the mini-global arrangement known as the European Union. In summary, the coronavirus pandemic is a world-changing event that is best understood as a complex infection of the globalization process itself.

H S 330 Health Care Policy in U.S.

An overview of the health care system in the United States and analysis of health policy issues primarily from the perspective of health economics.

H S 331C COVID19 SOCL IMPACT PUBL DILEM

Explore the COVID-19 pandemic through multiple social, cultural, and economic lenses. Consider how globalization has influenced transportation networks and economic relationships that shape infectious disease transmission in the twenty-first century. Examine the effectiveness of different public health efforts to curb the spread of this virus. Discuss how the public health efforts of different nations and international governing bodies reveal different cultural values, political realities, and healthcare systems.

H S 331C COVID SOCL IMPACT PUB DILEM-WB

H S 340 HEALTH DISPARITIES

None

H S 340 Cancerland

*Upper-division; instructor permission required.

This course will allow students to explore the social and cultural terrain of cancer research, treatment, and public policy in the United States. We will begin the course by asking, “what is cancer,” and what shapes our collective understandings of it as a disease in American society? We will read historical accounts of cancer, review epidemiologic and demographic data, and consult biomedical and oncological frameworks to set the stage for our social scientific investigation. We will then consider how social, cultural, environmental, economic, and political forces shape the incidence of cancer, as well as how these social forces shape research, diagnosis, and treatment of various manifestations of this disease. To begin, we will spend several weeks exploring how the social determinants of health influence cancer in society. How do race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality shape our collective conversations about cancer, individual and group cancer risk, cancer research agendas, and individual experiences of cancer diagnosis and treatment? We will also consider how the broader forces of environmental deregulation and economic inequality exacerbate cancer risk and prognosis for different individuals and groups.Research continues to show that lifestyle factors and behavioral choices shape the incidence of cancer across socio-demographic groups in the United States. How does stress increase one’s risk for cancer, and what dietary and exercise choices help reduce one’s risk of cancer? We will explore these questions from a sociological perspective, ever mindful of the structural constraints that make healthy choices easier for certain demographic groups. Finally, we will investigate how cultural ideas and social norms shape our understanding of different cancer diagnoses, treatment options, and the experience of cancer. We will examine how the politicization of health care in contemporary society directly relates to cancer. Specifically we will consider how cervical cancer prevention efforts have been politicized in the HPV vaccine debates and how political pressure to defund Planned Parenthood threatens to decrease access to routine cancer screenings for many poor and racial/ethnic minority women.

H S 340 CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH

Global Warming – or “Climate Change” to sound less threatening – is already affecting our health by changing the environments we live in. However, the projected effects of global warming will cause much greater harm to humans than most people know, and cause death and disease in ways our present global society is ill prepared to deal with. We are rapidly creating an unsustainable planet for many. As with so many other problems caused by a rapidly warming planet, the negative effects on human health will be wide spread, but will fall most harshly on poorer countries and poorer people in first world countries who have fewer resources to adapt or move. Humans have been changing their environments for centuries, and those changes have caused many of the health problems we have today. Global warming is the latest such change, but the effects will be harsher – and quicker. The course takes us through the basic science of climate change, including a look at historical changes in the past and how they have led to health problems and wars. We then focus on global warming today and how it will cause health problems in the coming decades. The course then looks at solutions to both the cause of our changing climate – global warming – and one of the effects – human health.

H S 341C COMPARATIVE US HEALTH SYSTEMS

This course will examine health care issues facing the United States though a comparative approach. The course will emphasize how underlying social values shape both the health of a population and its approach to health care. Significant time will also be spent analyzing different models of health care systems worldwide and what the advantages and disadvantages of these models are for different segments of society compared to the US model. We will pay close attention to Scandinavian/Nordic models of health care distribution, along with the systems of other more developed countries, as well as less developed countries, and small country innovations.

HDF 343 Human Development in Minority/Immigrant Families

Examines the theories of human development and cultural psychology as they apply to the developmental issues of minority and immigrant children and families.

HED 311 Intro to Health Promotion

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the concepts and principles of health promotion and behavioral science. The subject matter is applicable to a variety of fields, such as nursing, medicine, communication, education, psychology, sociology, and social work, in addition to health promotion.This course provides an overview of the responsibilities and basic knowledge of an entry-levelhealth promotion practitioner. Students will gain knowledge of organizational concepts, processes, skills, attitudes, and personal characteristics that comprise the profession of health education and promotion. The course reviews the principles of prevention, epidemiology, determinants of health, and theories of health behavior. Students will demonstrate content mastery through class discussions, graded activities, written assignments, and exams. CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) Objectives and Outcomes:This course will introduce students to the following competencies of an entry-level healtheducation specialist:I. Assess individual and community needs for health educationII. Plan health education strategies, interventions, and programsIII. Implement health education strategies, interventions, and programsIV. Conduct evaluation and research related to health educationV. Administer health education strategies, interventions, and programsVI. Serve as a health education resource personVII. Communicate and advocate for health and health educationCourse ObjectivesAt the completion of this course, students will be able to:1. Define key concepts in community health, health promotion, and behavioral science.1. Explain the roles and provide examples of governmental and non-governmental health organizations.2. Describe the purpose and general concepts of epidemiology.3. Identify intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal health behavior theories and constructs.4. Describe the importance of health promotion and behavioral science theories.5. Begin to develop an identity as a health education/promotion practitioner. Assess personal progress in fulfilling competencies required for the practice of health promotion.6. Identify and discuss ethical issues in development and delivery of health promotion programs.7. Understand the role of media in health promotion.

HED 329K Child and Adolescent Health

The foundations of child, adolescent, and adult health; health education; and the biological, environmental, and behavioral health determinants of health. Includes the application of evidence-based child, adolescent, and adult health promotion concepts; prominent health risk behaviors established during youth that increase the risk of morbidity and mortality; and the application of personal health and wellness information.

HED 343 Foundations of Epidemiology

HED 350 Theories of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theory, processes, activities, and settings for health education/health promotion practice. We recognize that some students may not be majoring in health promotion. The subject matter is applicable to a variety of fields, such as nursing, medicine, and other health professions, communication, education, psychology, sociology, and social work in addition to health promotion.

HED 361 Psychosocial Issues in Women's Health

Psychosocial issues in women's physical and mental health. Includes a broad definition of women's health that considers traditional reproductive issues, disorders that are more common in women than in men, and the leading causes of death in women. Covers gender influences on health risk behaviors, and societal influences on women's health through a consideration of social norms and roles.

HED 364 Strategic Hlth Communication

Rationale: The goal of this class is to help students analyze and develop campaigns designed to shift health behaviors and tounderstand essential components of effective communication strategies and persuasive messaging techniques. This coursemeets the need for real world experience in the area of health communication, providing interactions with health and businessprofessionals in marketing, advertising and public relations. Students will gain valuable practical experience, as they will havework as a team to develop a strategic health campaign to provide feedback to a client in an allied health field.II. Learning ObjectivesThe 3 primary aims of this class are:1. To understand the theory behind successful health promotion campaigns and to develop the skills to utilize and integratetheory in the development of strategic health communications.2. To review the component parts of established health promotion campaigns, deconstructing their development andapplication to better understand the process of creation and implementation.3. To create a strategic health campaign for an established business, from project conception to development, and then “pitch”the promotion to the key stakeholders of that business.

HED 365 Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to 1) the social determinants of health,2) health disparities, and 3) strategies to address the social determinants of health and reduce health disparities.Course Objectives: At the completion of this course, students will be able to:1. Identify primary social determinants of health.2. Reflect upon the social determinants of health in our society and how you will confront them in yourcareer in health promotion.3. Discuss the ways in which social determinants of health lead to differential health outcomes.4. Define health disparities.5. Discuss the extent and types of health disparities occurring in the US today.6. Identify groups who experience differential health outcomes.7. Identify and discuss strategies for altering the social determinants of health and reducing healthdisparities.

HED 370K PUBL HLTH CHALLNGS US MEX BRDR

Identification, causes, incidence, prevention, control, and social implications of major problems in health.

HED 378D Healthy Horns

**Restricted course; see course schedule for more information.

Analysis and synthesis of the literature and discussion of current and specific issues in health.

HIS 350R Women in Sickness & Health

In this reading-intensive, “writing flag” seminar, students will explore the experience of American women, in sickness and in health. Students will learn about medical and biological views of woman and women’s health and the social context of those views. For the majority of humankind, health and illness exist in a social (and historical context). We will strive to understand how the views of medical science and social science intersected with women’s experience. And, of course, there was no such thing as a universal “woman’s experience.” Class, race, and ethnicity influenced women’s circumstances and the ways women’s health and ill-health was experienced and understood. We will consider these occurrences or issues in women’s lives and how these events affected women’s health (or illness) or affected particular understandings of women’s health: Menarche and Menstruation Sexuality; Fertility and Birth Control; Childbirth; Mental Illness; Disease, specifically Breast Cancer

HIS 366N Global History of Disease

This course introduces major themes in the history of medicine through the lens of disease. It focuses on two questions: How have people defined well-being? How have they responded to illness? The course considers major diseases to understand their multiple meanings across time and space including: plague, cholera, influenza, sleeping sickness, PTSD, AIDS and malaria. Themes to be considered include changing theories of disease causality, the development of international public health policy, social understandings of the body, and the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. The course emphasizes the roles governments, medical practitioners, and patients play in the social construction of disease and health. Case studies from India, Brazil, South Africa and the United States will be analyzed through readings, lectures and films.

LAH 350 SOC INEQ & HEALTH IN U.S.

MAS 308 Intro to Mex Amer Policy Stds

MAS 319 LATINX HEALTH DISEASE STUDS

This course introduces students to research methods for identifying and understanding health patterns in Latinx populations. Students will be introduced to basic epidemiological principles, theory, methods, uses, and body of knowledge of epidemiology in order to understand leading causes of disease and health in Latinx populations. Literature in public health research that have over-represented Latinx samples will be discussed. Emphasis is placed on the social determinants of health and disease in Latinx populations, and on the contribution of epidemiology to health policy impacting Latinx health.

MAS 337F LATINA FEMINISM AND HEALTH

MAS 337F LATINA SEXUALITY AND HEALTH

N 275 Public Health Nursing

The aim of Public Health Nursing is prevention of illness, disability and disease, early identification of risk factors, and promotion of optimal health. Public health and nursing models will be used to plan for the health of aggregates and communities. Formal and informal community systems and health care delivery systems will be described and analyzed. Emphasis will be given to the concepts of community building and collaboration. During this course, the student should be able to: 1. Policy and Economics: Interpret data and policy about the public health issues affecting aggregates and communities that can lead to planning programs and healthy policy (e.g., substance abuse, violence). 2. Community Partnerships: Identify methods for building community partnerships and collaborating to assess and promote the health of aggregates and communities. 3. Culture: Identify influence of diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds and preferences on health of aggregates and communities. 4. Public Health Sciences: Apply basic public health theory and research, including behavioral and social sciences, biostatistics, epidemiology and environmental health as they relate to care of aggregates and communities. 5. Roles and Interventions: Describe public health nursing roles and interventions applicable to delivery of public health services for aggregates and communities. 6. Core Functions: Explain core public health functions and essential public health services.

N 309 Global Health

N 354 SPANISH FOR HLTH CARE PROFESNL

None

NTR 321 International Ntr: Devel World

Nutrition-related issues in the developing world, including nutrient deficiency and disease, concerns in vulnerable populations (pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and old age), and food aid.

NTR 330 Nutrition Educ and Counseling

Application of counseling and learning theories to the care of individuals and groups in community and clinical settings. DPD Learning Outcomes: This course contributes to the following knowledge areas: KRDN 2.1: Demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication and documentation. KRDN 2.6: Demonstrate an understanding of cultural competence/sensitivity. KRDN 3.2: Develop an educational session or program/educational strategy for a target population. KRDN 3.3: Demonstrate counseling and education methods to facilitate behavior change for and enhance wellness for diverse individuals and groups.

NTR 331 Intl Ntr: Socl/Envir Policies

Identifying, reading, analyzing, writing, and presenting scientific research on selected topics in nutrition and human health (Focus: Nutrition-related diseases).

NTR 332 Community Nutrition

National and international issues in public health and nutrition programs. Objective: To provide students with the basic knowledge and understanding of the following:• Responsibilities of the community nutritionist• Nutrition program planning and evaluation strategies• Methods of nutritional assessment and intervention• Identification of nutrition programs and policies for various stages of the life cycle• Tools needed to solve nutritional and health problems in a community setting

NTR 337 Prin Epidemiology in Nutr Sci

Introduction the role of epidemiology methods as the basis for selection of study design and data collection tools in nutrition research such as dietary tools, biomarkers of diet or disease, and anthropometric measurements like obesity. Emphasis on interpretation of study results in nutrition research.

NTR 365 Obesity & Metabolic Health

Examines the prevalence, prevention, and treatment of adult and childhood obesity, and the metabolic disorders related to obesity.

NTR 365 5-PRIN APP COMMUN ENGAGEMENT

P R 378 Prosocial Communication

Not available

PBH 317 Introduction to Public Health

Overview and basic principles of public health, including the public health system, concepts and tools for measuring health in populations, the relationship between public health and the medical care system, and the role of law and government in public health.

PBH 334 GLOBAL HEALTH

An investigation of global health issues, including the principles of global health, the burden of morbidity and mortality, health determinants, health care and public health systems, socioeconomic development, and human rights. Biology 334 and Public Health 334 may not both be counted. Prerequisites: Public Health 356 and 358D with a grade of at least C- in each. May be counted toward the global cultures flag requirement. Partially taught as a Web-based course.

PBH 337 GLOBAL HEALTH IN ACTION

PBH 337 is an experiential learning course in which students create deliverables identified by entities involved in global health activities. Deliverables will vary depending on the collaborating entities and their evolving needs. Examples of deliverables include needs assessments; data collection, analysis, and reporting; resource exploration; and stakeholder engagement. International travel is not a component of this course, although participation will prepare a student for in-country global health opportunities.

PBH 338 Environmental Health

ntroduction to the major areas of environmental health, including hazards in the environment, the effects of environmental contaminants, and various approaches to addressing major environmental health problems. Subjects include water and air quality, solid and liquid waste, hazardous chemicals, radiation, infectious agents, food safety, and occupational health. Contemporary case studies are used to address environmental policy and regulation and environmental justice.

PBH 358D Health Policy & Health Systems

“Health Policy and Health Systems” covers the essentials of health policy and law in the United States and compares the health care financing and delivery system in this country to those of other developed nations. Students will learn the history of health-related legislation in the United States and investigate why this nation, unlike others, developed an employment-based health care financing system based on an insurance model rather than a publicly funded universal health system. The way in which major political forces have determined the structure of the US health care system will be reviewed including an analysis of issues related to cost, quality and access. The evolution of the American health care system will be reviewed from a 20th century framework including discussion on the need for significant health reform in the 21st century. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be discussed from this context. Importantly, students will learn the organization and delivery of health services across the health care spectrum and be able to debate emerging issues including rationing of care, end-of-life issues and other difficult decisions that will have to be resolved. At the completion of this course, the student will have the ability to:1. Discuss the ways that policy and legal issues impact health care and public health systems.2. Compare the various sectors of the health service delivery system, including acute care, long term care, outpatient/ambulatory care, mental health services, managed care, and alternative delivery systems.3. Analyze both business practice and health care delivery in terms of process and outcomes assessment.Understand the current conflicts and challenges faced by the American Healthcare system in terms of cost, access and quality.4. Discuss the political, social, and economic factors which have produced the current system of delivering health services in the United States.5. Debate the scope of issues surrounding Health Care reform and the ACA.6. Understand current reimbursement methodologies and be knowledgeable on trends for payment reform.7. Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking and communicating.8. Write effectively using the conventions of the health policy professionals.9. Respond effectively to the writing of others in the field of health policy.

R S 373M Biomedicine, Ethics and Culture

This course examines moral dilemmas that have been generated or intensified by recent advances in medical technology. We will explore ethical questions related to topics such as allocation of medical resources, stem cell research and cloning, organ transplantation, abortion, human experimentation, genetic screening, in vitro fertilization, pharmaceutical use and distribution, prolonging life and the right to die, suicide, euthanasia, and diagnosis and treatment of illnesses such as Alzheimer disease, AIDS, and mental disorders. These topics will be considered from a global perspective emphasizing how cultural values inform ethical decision-making and how different ethical/cultural systems address and define moral issues that arise in relation to medical care. We will consider ethical theories that have been used in the West to consider medical practice and compare these with approaches in non-Western cultures such as Japan. The course will emphasize use of case studies to explore issues in medical ethics and to develop the ability to apply ethical theories in ways sensitive to variations in cultural values.

S W 360K SUICIDE PREVENTION

S W 360K Global Health

Not available

SOC 304 Society, Health & Happiness

In this course we will examine the relationship between health and happiness in society. We will learn how scholars in various fields, including sociology, psychology, neuroscience and economics, define and study health and happiness. We will then systematically consider these scholars’ research findings. What do we mean when we say we just want to be “happy”? What social factors and individual behaviors are more likely to make people happy? We will explore how money, control, family-friendly social policies, social integration, relationships, religiosity/spirituality, and various lifestyle choices all relate to health and happiness. Throughout the course, we will examine the new “Science of Happiness” and its effects in American popular culture. Students will also engage with practical lessons from the scientific study of happiness and human flourishing as we “walk the talk” of the scholarship and engage in our own “happiness projects” throughout the term.

SOC 307P Intro Sociology of Health/Well-Being

Examination of the social causes and context of illness, death, longevity, and health care today in the United States. Subjects include historical perspectives on health and mortality, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, religious involvement, marital status, family, age, and psychosocial factors. Emphasis on the tension between individualistic and public health perspectives on illness.

SOC 307Q ENVIR INEQUALITY HEALTH

SOC 308S Intro to Health and Society

SOC 312S SOCIETY, HEALTH & HAPPINESS

In this course, we will examine the interplay between society, health, and happiness, drawing upon findings from a variety of fields, including psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and economics. Topics include the nature and measurement of happiness, the relationship between health and happiness, the social or collective dimensions of health and happiness, and the relationship between money and individual well- being. Throughout the course, we will critically examine the new “Science of Happiness” and the increasing emphasis on happiness and positivity in American culture. Students will also engage with practical lessons from the scientific study of happiness and human flourishing by applying insights from research to their own lives. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the course, students will be prepared to answer the following questions: What are different ways in which happiness is understood, defined, measured, and studied? What does research tell us about the relationships between health, happiness, and money? What are the relationships between health, happiness, and social connectedness? What accounts for the recent emphasis on promoting happiness in many western societies? To what extent can health and happiness be facilitated by society?

SOC 321G Global Health Issues and Systems

This course provides an overview of global health challenges in the world today. It is essential to understand the links between health and education, poverty, equity, and development with an appreciation of the values, beliefs, and cultures of diverse groups. The first half of the course will review critical global health issues from biological, cultural and environmental perspectives. The second half of the course will review various health systems in the six World Health Organization geographic regions and will compare and contrast the various regions, as well as countries within regions, with regard to the specific health challenges they face.

SOC 321K NGOs Humanitarian Aid/Hlth

SOC 322F Mental Hlth in Social Context

This course is an overview of mental health and illness in social contexts. We will focus on the social antecedents and consequences of mental illness and the extent to which mental disorder is socially constructed. We will combine sociological, psychological, epidemiological, and biological approaches to better understand how the social aspects of mental health and illness interact with individual processes. We’ll also emphasize the diversity of mental health and illness by gender, race/ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, marital and parental statuses, and age. The objective of this course is for you to become familiar with micro-macro processes through which mental health and illness are affected by society and in turn affect social functioning of individuals. At the end of this course you will be able (1) to critically apply a sociological perspective to mental illness as a social phenomenon that transcends the individual level and (2) to understand the social etiology of and social inequality in mental health.

SOC 322J Economic Sociology of Hlth

SOC 323F Food and Society

In this course we will explore the social context of food. Topics will include food and identity, social class and culture. We will also investigate who plans, purchases, and prepares food for our families, including discussion of the recent debates about the value of a home-cooked meal. We will take a tour through the alphabet soup of government assistance for the hungry, including SNAP, WIC and NSLP. Finally, we examine food production and policies in the US.

SOC 335R REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE & RACE

SOC 336D Race, Class, and Health

This is a course that takes a close and hard look at the health and health care disparities among racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. The health disparities in the U.S. have been well studied by academics, public health officers, and policy makers for more than three decades. However, the disparities have not narrowed or diminished. The recent Covid-19 pandemic crystalized the impact of structural inequalities in the U.S. on health, disease and death among minority group members. In this class, we will review the complex relationship between social class (socioeconomic status) and health, social class and race, the effect of race/ethnicity on health outcomes and access to healthcare, and specific health issues for major racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Course topics include: conceptual issues central to understanding how low socioeconomic status leads to poor health, understanding how conscious, unconscious, and institutionalized racial bias affects not only health outcomes, but also education, employment, social and physical living conditions, access to medical care. In addition, we will engage in discussions on ways to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity for racial/ethnic minorities. Health and health disparities are analyzed from biosocial and life-course perspectives. Social determinants of health and principles of health equity provide the underlying conceptual frameworks for this class.

SOC 354K Sociology of Health & Illness

This course provides an introduction to central topics in the sociology of health and illness. The material covered in this course will encompass individual, institutional and theoretical approaches to health & illness. The course is designed to provide a critical framework for exploring how social, political, economic and cultural forces shape the understanding and experience of health and illness. We will explore the following themes: 1) the social production and distribution of disease and illness; 2) the meaning and experience of illness; 3) the social organization of medical care; 4) health politics and health systems.

Family, Fertility & the Life Course

ADV 378 Exploring Food/Urban Change

None

EDP 376T 3-DISABILITY CULTURE IN EDUCTN

EDP 376T 9-Pediatric Psychology and Health Disparities

GOV 358 Introduction to Public Policy

GRG 322D Human Health & the Environment

HDF 347 Socioecon Probs of Families

An analysis of socioeconomic factors affecting the economic well-being of families and individuals.

HED 329K Child and Adolescent Health

HED 361 Psychosocial Issues in Women's Health

MAS 308 Intro to Mex Amer Policy Stds

MAS 337F LATINA SEXUALITY AND HEALTH

N 309 Global Health

S W 360K African American Family

Overview of historical and contemporary issues facing African American families and children. Social service delivery to African American families and communities is emphasized.

SOC 304 Society, Health & Happiness

SOC 307C American Families: Past & Present

How changes in American family life have affected adults and children in contemporary society. Examines trends over time in specific aspects of family life, which include marriage, cohabitation, mate selection, divorce, parenthood, family structure, and work-family balance. Methods used by sociologists and demographers to study the family will also be reviewed.

SOC 307K Fertility and Reproduction

SOC 308L Socl Transformatn of Love/Rels

Sociology 308 examines the social, psychological, spiritual, and historical perspectives toward love and intimacy. It focuses on the cross-cultural diversity of passionate love and sexuality from early civilization in the East and West to the modern era. The course will offer insights to understand how love and intimacy interact with rapid social, economic, and cultural change, and how the subsequent change transformed the social world and the meaning of love. As we journey through this course, you will become familiar with: the aspects of self and identity; differentiation in the context of love in the modern age; the family and the individual; the impact of industrialization and capitalism on private lives and the public order; gender, love, and communication; love, health, and socialization; intercultural love and intimacy; personal choice and arranged marriages. Finally, we will look at the current state of love and aggression in modern democracies. This course brings some of the current research and thinking, not only from the social perspective, but also from a wide variety of intellectual disciplines. Artistic films, documentaries, and other media will be presented as technical methods of representation of "social reality" to better understand and experience the subject.

SOC 323 The Family

The American family in historical and comparative perspective. Family history and origins; comparative family systems; social antecedents of family structure and process; family formation and dissolution; family and society; recent family changes and prospects for the future.

SOC 335R REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE & RACE

Migration & Diaspora

AAS 335 MIGRATION CRISIS

This course provides an overview and analysis of contemporary U.S. migration policies and practices, focusing particularly on the most recent period of crisis defined by bans, restrictions and retrenchments. The course begins with an overview of the major epochs in US immigration history. It then explores five thematic areas: 1) Refugees and Asylees; 2) Bans and exclusions; 3) Family Separation; 4) Raids, Detention; 5) Sanctuary and Resistance. Course materials are primarily historical and sociological.

AFR 315R Diaspora: Race/Nation/Resistnc

This course offers students a comparative study in the makings and meanings of diaspora. We begin by defining the differences and similarities between diaspora and related concepts such as race, nation and cultural identity. While we focus specifically on black peoples in the Americas, we will explore how different African diasporic groups have understood themselves, and their relationships to other African descendent peoples, their place within the nation, and how a sense of their ties to one another has fostered alternative ways of being. In turn, how those in the African diaspora have responded to their place within various nation-states (the United States, Haiti, Brazil, Dominican Republic, England, etc.) has entailed various forms of resistance and responses to those larger societies. Along these lines, we will explore how African diasporic populations have responded to slavery, colonialism, racial oppression, and modernity as they articulated notions of democracy that challenged dominant structures of society. We explore these ideas through looking at slave revolts, anticolonial and Afro-Asian liberation struggles, Black/Third World Feminism, globalization, and the sexual politics of diaspora. Across each of these themes, we view the diaspora as an open and fluid space through which black people “make our world anew.”

ANS 361 DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT

This class explores various interpretations, methods, and policies of development mainly focusing on the cases of East and Southeast Asia. We will trace the history of development as a post-war international project that emerged in the context of decolonization since the 1940s. Particular attentions will be given to the state-driven developmentalism in East and Southeast Asia, intertwined with the Cold War geopolitics, decolonization, post-colonial desires, economic development, and the US-led neocolonizing capitalist incorporation of the greater Asia region. Then we will move to practices of development/counter-development/post-development in the era of globalization and neoliberalism. Topics included land, labor and livelihood struggles; race, gender, power; activism and social movements; transnational development and the reinterpretation of foreign aid; and civil society and the future of the state.

ANT 310L Muslims in Europe

The topic of the course is the complicated politics of ethics and leadership among Muslims in contemporary France and Germany. This class is intended to expose students to ethical issues pertaining to religious identity formation in two different countries of the European Union. Moreover, in an effort to apply ethical reasoning in real-life situations, we will work to grasp the similarities and differences regarding everyday religious politics of ethics and leadership among Muslims living in France and Germany today, especially as these are shaped by historical processes associated with colonialism and nation-state-building, as well as by the power of representations mobilized in a global world. While the perspective of this course will be primarily anthropological, it will also be informed by historical, sociological, and legal approaches in an attempt to engage perspectives across various social science disciplines and the law. Based on the close reading of four recently published ethnographies about Muslim life in France and Germany, we will discuss how a consideration of current debates about religion and the state helps us understand the ethical relationship between the recognition of a lasting Muslim presence, the ways in which the state tries to institutionalize it in an effort of cooptation and control, and the challenges of circulating counter-discourses of European Muslim identity today. Moreover, the course will draw on cinematographic materials that illustrate some of the current debates surrounding Muslim identity formation in Europe.

ANT 322M Mexican Immigratn Cul Hist

CMS 367I 1-IMMIGRATION COMMUNICATION

Migrants are a heterogeneous group of people (the term “migrants” is used to encompass different immigrant communities). The reasons for relocating to the United States, or another country, the conditions under which they relocate, whether they are authorized to remain in a country, their cultural backgrounds, their ethnic/racial identities, their education level, their gender identity and sexual orientation, and their socio-economic status are merely a few factors that contribute to immigrants’ diverse experiences. Thus, this course will introduce us to different frameworks, research, and practices that can help us understand the important role of communication in different, U.S., migration experiences. On the one hand, communication can help mitigate some of the social and structural barriers that migrants face in the United States and elsewhere. On the other hand, communication can also exacerbate or lead to educational, economic, and health inequities among migrants. We will consider both ways in which communication can function for migrant communities. Overall, migration: (1) is a diverse area of research that can incorporate intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, institutional, cultural, and policy levels of analysis; (2) is studied using a wide range of methodologies; and (3) is affected by a variety of communication channels. The readings and content of this course primarily focus on the experiences of Latina/o/x immigrant communities in the U.S.

E 323D MIGRATION LITERATURE-WB

Where are you actually from? – In his 2017 Man Booker Prize short-listed novel, Exit West, Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid muses: “and when she went out it seemed to her that she too had migrated, that everyone migrates, even if we stay in the same houses our whole lives, because we can’t help it. We are all migrants through time.” In light of an international refugee crisis, increased border militarization and incarceration, and immigration restrictions, what does it mean for the contemporary novel to imagine the migrant, and the “migrant through time?” Together we will navigate fairly unchartered waters in this class by taking seriously the category of “migrant literature,” a category much less familiar, than, say, “immigration literature.” One of the main questions we will ponder throughout the semester will be: how is the “migrant” imagined in global contemporary literature, and how is this imagining distinct from that of a traveler, expat, or refugee? What is the power or political utility of bringing creative works together through their investment in the “migrant”? We will begin with Shailja Patel’s 2010 dynamic multi-genre text and performance, Migritude, which conceptualizes the idea of “migritude” as a way of inhabiting, voicing, and celebrating migrant consciousness in the face of state-sanctioned violence, xenophobia, and colonialism. Migritude will become a useful framework in exploring other global creative and critical works (and some that blur the line between critical and creative) that grapple with issues of the displacement and movement of bodies, the making of diaspora, citizenship, and empire. Our readings will invite questions such as: how do contemporary works make visible marginalized histories of migration and their legacies in the present moment? How do the overlapping matrices of race, class, gender, and sexuality shape the migrant experience and border crossings? What does it mean to belong?

E 343I IMMIGRATION LITERATURE

GOV 314 DIASPORAS IN WORLD POLITICS

Diasporas are playing an increasingly important role in world politics. The relative number of immigrants in both developed and developing countries is steadily growing. Today, more than half of the world's states have established "diaspora organizations" – official agencies and ministries that nurture those countries' ties with emigrants and their descendants. In academia, the interdisciplinary field of diaspora studies is progressively gaining importance and popularity. The Jewish diaspora is one of the oldest diasporas in the world, and probably the most studied one. Many (although definitely not all) scholars regard it as the archetypal ethno-national diaspora. In 1948, it regained its ancestral homeland when the State of Israel was established. On the one hand, Israel has been officially committed to the security and well-being of the diaspora since then. On the other hand, due to its pragmatic foreign policy, Israeli policy makers have not always taken into account the diaspora's vital interests.

GOV 355M THE POLITICS OF IMMIGRATION

The purpose of this course is to develop a working knowledge of immigration policy in the United States; to understand the institutional development of immigration policy over the US’s history; and to explore the challenges posed for American democracy by immigration enforcement in the contemporary era. Such issues include the use of local police to enforce federal policy, the liminal legal space occupied by immigrants, the complicated relationship between federal, state and local agencies, and the relationship between historical institutional racial exclusion and the current era of mass detention and deportation. Throughout the course of the class, students will develop skills in project management, collaboration, critical analysis and research.

GOV 358 Introduction to Public Policy

GRG 319 Geography of Latin America

Adaptations to population growth and spatial integration in cultural landscapes of great natural and ethnic diversity; problems of frontiers and cities.

HDF 343 Human Development in Minority/Immigrant Families

Examines the theories of human development and cultural psychology as they apply to the developmental issues of minority and immigrant children and families.

HIS 314K History of Mexican Amers in US

Examines the origin and growth of the Mexican American community in the United States.

HIS 317L Immigration and Ethnicity

Widely considered a wellspring for U.S. greatness, immigration has also been an abiding site of our deepest conflicts. The republican foundations of the United States with its promises of democracy and equality for all seem to strain against ever increasing numbers of immigrants from parts of the world barely conceived of by the Founding Fathers, much less as sources of new citizens. What is the breaking point for the assimilating powers of U.S. democracy and how much does national vitality rely upon continued influxes of a diversity of immigrants with their strenuous ambitions and resourcefulness? Today we remain embattled by such competing beliefs about how immigration shapes our nation’s well-being and to what ends we should constrain whom we admit and in what numbers. This course emphasizes the following themes: the changing population of the United States from colonial times; ethnic cultures, communities, and cuisines; ideologies concerning eligibility for citizenship and for restricting immigration; the development of immigration law as an aspect of sovereign authority; the entwining of immigration policy with international relations; and the evolution of institutions for immigration enforcement.

HIS 317L Intro to Asian American Hist

Introduces students to the national and transnational histories of Asian Americans in the United States. Explores a wide range of themes related to the Asian American experience.

HIS 346L Modern Latin America

Continuation of History 346K and Latin American Studies 366 (Topic 2).This course introduces students to the history of Latin America from the eve of the wars of independence to the present. Major issues to be covered include the breakdown of Spanish and Portuguese Empires, the struggle to form independent nation-states, the re-integration of the region into the world economy, the emergence of national politics and mass culture, Cold War cycles of revolution and counter-revolution, the promise of democracy in the region, and implications of immigration from the region to the United States. In addition to highlighting the political history of the past two centuries, the course readings and lectures will examine the importance of ethnicity, race, class, nationality, and gender in understanding the changing characteristics of Latin American societies. A combination of primary sources and scholarly works will shed light on the historical development of Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Argentina, among other countries.

HIS 350L Atlantic Slave Trade in the Americas

Not only Africans were forced into slavery in the Americas. Carolina and Georgia exported tens of thousands of Native American slaves into the Caribbean. In the wake of the epidemiological devastation brought about by European diseases, Native Americans created new communities often by raiding neighboring enemy groups and incorporating outsides as captives. The “Americas” were formed in the crucible of slavery. This course will examine the history of the many slave trades in the colonial Americas.

HIS 350R Refugees in 20th-Century US

This course explores the history of refugees in the twentieth century, with special attention to the U.S. and its engagement in the international arena of refugee politics. Students will examine how states, non-governmental organizations, private charities, and local communities have come together to address the questions of asylum, displacement, statelessness, and humanitarian concerns. Students will study the causes of particular refugee movements and the reasons why the United States responded to or failed to respond to certain refugee cases. The course will introduce students to how the "problem" of refugees has been framed by, among others, historians and social scientists, policymakers, NGOs, local communities, social workers, and refugees themselves. In doing so, this course will explore how particular cases of refugees have shaped U.S. domestic policies and also the development of the United States and its role in international affairs.

HIS 350R Refugees in 20th Century US

None

LAH 350 31-IMMIGRATION LITERATURE

LAS 322E Latino Migrations and Asylum

Welcome to Latino Migrations and Asylum! In this undergraduate seminar, we will critically examine the contemporary politics, geographies, and practices of Latina/o migration and asylum in the United States. We will begin our discussion in the first half of the semester by contextualizing experiences of Latina/o migration and asylum within the current global migration crisis and the long historical trajectory of political nativism in the United States. During the second half of the semester, we will narrow our focus by examining root causes of Latina/o migration in relation to U.S. foreign policy as well as the varied challenges confronting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States from the mid-twentieth century through the contemporary period. Causes and consequences of Latino/a migration with respect to El Salvador will serve as important case study in this regard.

MAS 308 Intro to Mex Amer Policy Stds

MAS 335M Queer Migrations

This course is designed to introduce students to key theories, trends and perspectives within the contemporary field of study loosely categorized as “queer migration,” with a primary (though not sole) focus on the context of Latinx communities and the United States. This course will consider both historical and contemporary examples that reveal the complex relationships between and among race, gender, sexuality, citizenship, belonging, and borders within the contexts of global capitalism, settler colonialism, and transnational relationships among nation-states.

MAS 364D Latino Migrations and Asylum

MAS 374 IMMIGRATN BORDER SEC US MEX

In this course we will read and analyze academic material on issues related to mass displacement, in-transit migration, migrant incarceration, as well as state practices of securitization, incarceration, and “border-making” in the 21st century. The course is concerned with surveying a variety of interdisciplinary texts related to border and immigration in the United States, Latin America, and elsewhere, mainly focusing on issues that affect immigrant and refugee people that experience intersecting forms of subjugation and persecution. *This is a project-based course, meaning that students have the option to opt out of writing an academic research paper to accommodate their own interests by working alongside the instructor in order to create a feasible final project.

MAS 374 US IMM POLCY STORIES MIGRTN

RIM 301 INTRO TO RACE INDIGEN MIGRATN

This course familiarizes students with core concepts—or “key terms”—in the study of Race, Indigeneity and Migration in the modern world, with a specific focus on U.S histories and cultures. The course demonstrates how race, Indigeneity and migration structure modernity itself—how they fundamentally explain capitalism, nation-states, citizenship, labor, land, democracy. The course also provides a review of key periods in the makings and meanings of the United States: settler colonialism, slavery, Reconstruction, Manifest Destiny, the industrial revolution, the Second World War, the Cold War and globalization.

SOC 322U US Immigration

SOC 323D Border Control/Deaths

Since the 1940s, US control of the Southwest border has remained a major challenge in immigration policy. Border control has become one of the most debated topics in the country, including in federal and state legislative bodies. Annually thousands of unauthorized migrants cross the US-Mexico border into the United States to participate in US labor markets and in other social institutions. Thousands of other migrants also appear at the southwest border to seek asylum. One consequence of unauthorized immigration and of the implementation of border control measures for deterrence has been the deaths of hundreds of migrants annually. Over the years, the deaths have added up into the thousands. The social effects of border control and the occurrence of migrant deaths have become topics investigated by sociologists and other researchers to increase knowledge and understanding of international migration and the effects of border policies.

Integration Essay

A 3-4 page essay in which you reflect on what you learned and accomplished through your BDP experience.

Important Notes on Fulfilling Your BDP Requirements

PREREQUISITES: Some courses may have prerequisites. Please consult your BDP advisor to determine your eligibility for enrolling in specific courses.
CROSS-LISTINGS: Note that many courses on this list may be cross-listed with other departments. You may take these courses under any of the cross-listed numbers. Please consult the course schedule or your BDP advisor for cross-listing information.
GRADES AND GPA REQUIREMENTS: In courses taken for a letter grade, you must obtain a grade of C- or better to meet BDP requirements. The cumulative GPA of all courses counting toward your BDP certificate must be at least 2.0.
PASS/FAIL: Only one BDP course, including connecting experience courses, may be taken pass/fail. Any exceptions will be considered by the faculty panel on an individual basis.
SIGNATURE COURSES: Many of the First-Year Signature Courses (UGS 302 and UGS 303) that include significant content related to Social Inequality, Health & Policy may also count toward your certificate; please consult your BDP advisor for more information.
PETITIONS: You may be able to count courses toward your BDP certificate that do not appear on this curriculum sheet, if enough of the course content relates to your BDP topic. Please consult your BDP advisor if you would like to petition for a course to count toward your BDP. See the BDP calendar for fall and spring petition deadlines. Current BDP students can find the petition form on their MyBDP dashboard.

For more information on courses, please consult your BDP advisor (bdp@austin.utexas.edu) or the course schedule.