HST 411: Political Economy of Health

Transcription

1 HST 411: Political Economy of Health Fall 2017 It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. J. Krishnamurti COURSE INFORMATION Instructor: Faraz Vahid Shahidi faraz.vahidshahidi@utoronto.ca Class Hours: Tuesday, 3:00-6:00pm Class Location: UC175 Office Hours: Tuesday, 1:00-2:00pm Office Location: HS529 HEALTH STUDIES PROGRAM CONTACTS Health Studies Director: Sarah Wakefield (sarah.wakefield@utoronto.ca) Health Studies Program Assistant: Khamla Sengthavy (khamla.sengthavy@utoronto.ca) Website: COURSE DESCRIPTION This course explores the social production and distribution of health and illness within and across societies. A political economy approach is applied to better understand the fundamental causes of health inequalities and to examine the policy solutions most commonly proposed to address them. The course will equip students with theoretical and empirical insights from a range of disciplines including economics, epidemiology, political science, and sociology to facilitate a critical reading of contemporary research on the social determinants of health. COURSE OBJECTIVES This course will advance an understanding of: the macrosocial determinants of population health; competing theories of political economy; the political economy of contemporary capitalism; and the relationship between political economy and population health. PRE-REQUISITES Students enrolled in this course are required to have completed HST209: Introduction to Health or an equivalent course. The prerequisite may be waived at the discretion of the instructor. Students should contact the instructor prior to the first lecture if they require a waiver. COURSE DROP DATE The final drop date for this course is Monday, November 6 th. REQUIRED READINGS All required readings will be posted on under the Course Materials tab on Blackboard.

2 ACCESSIBILITY If a student requires specific accommodations, they can contact the course instructor and/or the Accessibility Services Office. The St. George Campus Accessibility Services Office is located on the first floor of Robarts Library. Staff are available by appointment to help with assessing specific needs, providing referrals, and arranging for appropriate accommodations. The Accessibility Services Office can be contacted at (416) or through disability.services@utoronto.ca. ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE Participation (30%): Students are expected to read the assigned readings prior to class to be able to participate meaningfully in the seminar discussions. Participation will be evaluated based on the quality of their contributions to the facilitated discussions as well as on their ability to promote a supporting learning environment for their peers. Abstract and Annotated Bibliography (20%): Students will identify a specific research question and conduct some preliminary research on the topic. Based on this preliminary reading, students will complete an abstract that identifies the research question and summarizes their main argument. The abstract should be approximately 300 words long and give some indication of the range of ideas that will be used to support the main argument. In addition, students will complete an annotated bibliography that includes 8 academic sources. For each entry in your bibliography, a small summary approximately 150 words in length should be added in which you describe the source s main argument and the contribution you expect it to make to your final paper. Due date: October 27 th, Final Research Paper (50%): Students will complete a 3500 word research paper based on the question they presented in their abstract. Students are expected to draw substantially from the broader literature with the aim of writing a paper of publishable quality. Due date: December 5 th, ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE Assignment Submission: Students will submit their assignment to the instructor via (faraz.vahidshahidi@utoronto.ca) by the end of the day that they are due. Late Penalties: A late penalty of 1% of the total value of the assignment will be deducted from the grade per day for late work (including weekend days). Assignment Extensions: Extensions will be granted in the case of illness and other emergencies. Communication: Students are encouraged to contact the course instructor if they have any questions or concerns. Students should use their University of Toronto address when communicating with the course instructor. Academic Integrity: Assignments submitted for evaluation should be the product of the student s own work except where otherwise indicated. Students should review the University s guidelines on academic conduct carefully. Should a student have any questions or concerns regarding these guidelines, they are expected to seek out additional information from the course instructor. 2

3 CURRICULUM Week 1: Introduction Week 2: Theorizing Health Inequalities Week 3: Theorizing Marginalization Week 4: Classical Political Economy Week 5: Marxist Political Economy Week 6: Keynesian Political Economy Week 7: Neoliberal Political Economy Week 8: Case Study - Welfare Reform Week 9: Case Study - Indigenous Health Week 10: Case Study - Industrial Epidemics Week 11: Case Study - Green Cities Week 12: Case Study - The Trump Era READINGS Week 1: Introduction 1. Freire P. (1968). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. Week 2: Theorizing Health Inequalities How does the study of populations differ from the study of individuals? What are the strengths and limitations of a variable-oriented understanding of the social determinants of health? What do we mean by a fundamental cause of health inequalities? Why are health inequalities widening despite growing evidence on the social determinants of health? 1. Douglas M. (2015). Beyond health : why don t we tackle the cause of health inequalities? In: Smith K, Bambra C, Hill SE (eds). Health Inequalities: Critical Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2. Garthwaite K, Smith K, Bambra C et al. (2016). Desperately seeking reductions in health inequalities: perspectives of UK researchers on past, present, and future directions in health inequalities research. Sociology of Health & Illness, 38(3): Week 3: Theorizing Marginalization What do we mean by the term marginalization? Who is marginalized and what are the causes of their marginalization? What are the interventions most commonly proposed as potential solutions to the problem of marginalization? Have they worked? 1. Blank RM. (2003). Selecting among anti-poverty policies: can an economist be both critical and caring? Review of Social Economy, 61(4): Darity W. (2003). Will the poor always be with us? Review of Social Economy, 61(4):

4 Week 4: Classical Political Economy What are the principal theoretical traditions informing the study of political economy? How have these different traditions conceptualized the relationship between politics and economics? Why is the study of political economy important to the theory and practice of politics today? 1. Stillwell F. (2011). Classical political economy. In: Political Economy: The Contest of Economic Week 5: Marxist Political Economy What are the principal theoretical traditions informing the study of political economy? How have these different traditions conceptualized the relationship between politics and economics? Why is the study of political economy important to the theory and practice of politics today? 1. Stillwell F. (2011). Marxist political economy. In: Political Economy: The Contest of Economic Week 6: Keynesian Political Economy What is social policy? Why do states develop social policies? What are the political and economic origins of welfare capitalism? Why is the welfare state under attack? 1. Stillwell F. (2011). Keynesian political economy. In: Political Economy: The Contest of Economic 2. Eikemo TA, Bambra C. (2008). The welfare state: a glossary for public health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62(1):3-6. Week 7: Neoliberal Political Economy How should we make sense of recent changes in the political economy of capitalism? What do these transformations reveal about the theory and practice of political economy? What are their implications for our understanding of the social determinants of health? 1. Harvey D. (2007). Neoliberalism as creative destruction. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 610(1): Schrecker T. Bambra C. (2015). Their scarcity and our political cure. In: How Politics Makes Us Sick: Neoliberal Epidemics. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Week 8: Case Study - Welfare Reform 1. Cook KE, Raine KD, Williamson DL. (2001). The health implications of working for welfare benefits: the experiences of single mothers in Alberta, Canada. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 11(4):

5 2. Peck J, Theodore N. (2000). Work first: workfare and the regulation of contingent labour markets. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 24(1): Week 9: Case Study - Indigenous Health 1. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2009). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future. 2. Coulthard G. (2014). Seeing red: reconciliation and resentment. In: Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Week 10: Case Study - Industrial Epidemics 1. Jahiel RI, Babor TF. (2007). Industrial epidemics, public health advocacy and the alcohol industry: lessons from other fields. Addiction, 102(9): Kearns CE, Schmidt LA, Glantz SA. (2016). Sugar industry and coronary heart disease research: a historical analysis of internal industry documents. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(11): Moodie R, Stuckler D, Monteiro C, et al. (2013). Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries. Lancet, 381(9867), Week 11: Case Study - Green Cities 1. Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Khreis H, Triguero-Mas M et al. (2017). Fifty shades of green: pathway to healthy urban living. Epidemiology, 28(1): Cole H, Lamarca M, Connolly J et al. (2017). Are green cities healthy and equitable? Unpacking the relationship between health, green space, and gentrification. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, in press. Week 12: Case Study - The Trump Era 1. Bor J. (2017). Diverging life expectancies and voting patterns in the 2016 US Presidential Election. American Journal of Public Health, in press. 2. Post C. (2017). The roots of Trumpism. Cultural Dynamics, 29(1-2): Bhattacharya T. (2017). Donald Trump: the unanticipated apotheosis of neoliberalism. Cultural Dynamics, 29(1-2):