Advanced Geographies of Health and Disability module (GE41012)

Issues of health and disability feature prominently in the media, policy debates, and our everyday lives. Geography also takes a keen interest in health and disability, focusing on themes such as inequalities in health, relationships between environments and places and health, access and exclusion and inclusion, healthcare and support, public health, and mental health and wellbeing.

The module explores and critiques the main theoretical and methodological approaches to studying the geographies of health and disability, illustrating these debates with examples.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• develop a critical understanding of the relationship between health and disability, and space and place
• develop a theoretical literacy with regard to debates on geographical approaches to health and disability
• develop a critical understanding of the nature, patterning, and experiences of health, illness, and disability
• critically examine the forms of care and support for addressing health, illness, and disability
• develop reflective learning on health and disability

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate critical knowledge on the relationship between health and disability, and space and place
• demonstrate critical knowledge of different approaches to studying geographies of health and disability
• demonstrate critical understanding of the nature, patterning, and experience of health, illness, and disability
• demonstrate critical understanding of different forms of care and support
• critically identify, read, and interpret a wide range of academic articles on debates on geographies of health and disability
• critically interpret quantitative and qualitative data from a range of sources on health and disability
• use independent study skills, including academic and policy literature searching and communication, to prepare for assessments
• identify, analyse, and interpret quantitative and qualitative data from different sources
• engage with non-academic organisations to learn about policy and practice

Assignments / assessment

• portfolio (40%)
  • based on four short assignments across the semester
• essay (30%)
• examination (30%)

Teaching methods / timetable

• one-hour lectures
  • in-person with interactive elements
• in-person workshops
  • involves discussion/analysis of data, a video, questions, readings etc.
• in-person seminars
  • involves discussion of pre-identified readings
• talks by guest speakers
  • guest speakers will be experts from health and disability organisations and/or academics
• online activities
  • related to the lectures
  • to be done in your own time
• field exercise
  • a half-day field visit in Dundee