This course will provide students with an introduction to the rehabilitation sciences in the Canadian context. Students will gain knowledge regarding the pressing demographic needs for rehabilitation services and research, as well as the issues affecting the delivery of those services.

This course will introduce students to the regional, national, and global patterns of chronic disease and demonstrate how demography, behaviour, socio-economic status, and genetics impact patterns of chronic disease in human populations. Using epidemiological studies we will examine these patterns, assess their complex causes, and discuss strategies for broad-based preventative action.

This course considers how the category of disability works globally across geographic locations and cultural settings. Combining an interdisciplinary social justice-oriented disability studies perspective with a critical decolonial approach, students continue to develop an understanding of disability as a relational, social, and historical symbolic category, and ableism. Students will develop strong critical skills in interpretation and analysis of both social science texts, works of theory, and artworks (i.e., the written word, visual images, performance). Topics including representations of disability in global and diasporic media, including literature and film; medicalization and tropes of disability across cultures; human rights and disability activism around the world; and intersectional analysis of disability in relation to gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, and class in diverse global contexts.

This course focuses on the transition from birth to old age and changes in health status. Topics to be covered include: socio-cultural perspectives on aging, the aging process, chronic and degenerative diseases, caring for the elderly.

This course will explore bio-social aspects of health and development in children. Topics for discussion include genetics and development, growth and development, childhood diseases, the immune system, and nutrition during the early years.

Environmental issues are often complex and require a holistic approach where the lines between different disciplines are often obscured. The environment, as defined in this course, includes the natural (biological) and built (social, cultural, political) settings. Health is broadly defined to include the concept of well-being. Case studies will be used to illustrate environment and health issues using an ecosystem approach that includes humans as part of the ecosystem.

Adopting ecological, epidemiological, and social approaches, this course examines the impact of infectious disease on human populations. Topics covered include disease ecology, zoonoses, and the role of humans in disease occurrence. The aim is to understand why infectious diseases emerge and how their occurrence is intimately linked to human behaviours.

This course will apply students' knowledge of health, society, and human biology to solving real-life cases in global health, such as the Ebola outbreaks in Africa or the acute toxic encephalopathy mystery illness among children in India. This case-study-oriented course will focus on the application of human biology principles in addressing current cases in global health.

Epidemiology is the study of the pattern and causes of health-related outcomes and the application of findings to improve public health. This course will examine the history of epidemiology and its principles and terminology, measures of disease occurrence, study design, and application of concepts to specific research areas.

An examination of a current topic relevant to health sciences. The specific topic will vary from year to year, and may include: Ecosystem Approaches to Zoonotic Disease; Climate Change and Health; Food Insecurity, Nutrition, and Health; Health and the Human-Insect Interface.

An examination of a current topic relevant to health sciences. The specific topic will vary from year to year, and may include: Ecosystem Approaches to Zoonotic Disease; Climate Change and Health; Food Insecurity, Nutrition, and Health; Health and the Human-Insect Interface.

This course introduces students to the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and how these overlap with social and environmental determinants of health. This will allow for a wider exploration of risk factors and public health approaches to individual and population health. The social impact of cancer and the importance of patient advocacy and support will also be examined. This course will also delve into evolving concepts of cancer and breakthroughs in cancer therapies.

This course explores several topics in toxicology with emphasis on exposure pathways, mechanisms of toxicity and effects of chemicals on human health. Through lectures, case studies and a semester-long project, this course covers principles of toxicology, models and methodologies used to investigate the toxicity of environmental chemicals, the mechanisms of toxicity of selected environmental chemicals, and the applications of toxicology in risk assessment.

A technical introduction to the methodology and practice of biomedical data science. This course introduces core concepts for analyzing health and biomedical data, including electronic health data, large datasets, phenotyping algorithms, and association studies.

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to helping students prepare to tackle complex emerging health issues and to explore ways of addressing these issues through public policy. A range of contemporary and newly-emerging health issues are discussed and analyzed in the context of existing policy constraints within Canada and worldwide.

This course examines the role of all levels of Canadian government in health and health care. The impact of public policies, health care policy, and access to health care services on the health of populations is considered. The course also examines the role of political parties and social movements in the policy change process.

This course surveys a selection of health care systems worldwide in relation to financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. In this course students will explore questions such as: which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? How do these different systems deal with tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? The set of international health care systems we focus on are likely to vary by term but will include a subset of OECD countries as well as countries with large populations that are heavily represented in Toronto such as China and India.

This interdisciplinary course draws on diverse theoretical and analytical approaches that span the humanities, social sciences and life sciences to critically explore the diverse relationships between gender and health, in local and global contexts. Particular attention is given to intersections between sex, gender and other social locations and processes that impact health and health inequities across the lifespan, including the impacts of ableism, colonialism, hetero-normativity, poverty, racialization, and sexism on women's and men's health, and related health research and practice. Through course readings, case studies, group discussions, class activities, and course assignments, students will apply these theoretical lenses and develop analytical skills that : (1) advance a more contextualized understanding of gender and health across the lifespan, (2) provide important insights into gendered health inequities, and (3) speak to strategies and social movements that begin to address these challenges.

How can we empirically research and understand the powers shaping the social organization of daily life? Engaging with the theory and methods pioneered by Canadian feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith, students learn to analyze and document how health care, social services, education, financial, pharmaceutical, psychiatry, labor, legal aid, criminal justice, emergency, and immigration systems frame and shape their everyday lives.

An examination of a current topic relevant to health and society. The specific topic will vary from year to year. Topics may include: Social Justice and Health Activism; Climate Change and Health; Labour, Precarity, and Health.

This course will examine the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples, given historic and contemporary issues. A critical examination of the social determinants of health, including the cultural, socioeconomic and political landscape, as well as the legacy of colonialism, will be emphasized. An overview of methodologies and ethical issues working with Indigenous communities in health research and developing programs and policies will be provided. The focus will be on the Canadian context, but students will be exposed to the issues of Indigenous peoples worldwide.
Same as SOCC49H3

An intensive, interdisciplinary study of the human-animal relationship as represented through a range of literature, film, and other critical writings. Students will explore the theoretical underpinnings of “animality” as a critical lens through which human identity, health, and policy are conceptualized. Key topics include: animals in the human imagination, particularly in relation to health; animal-human mythologies; health, ethics, and the animal.

An examination of a current topic relevant to the study of health and society. The specific topic will vary from year to year.

Same as SOCC51H3

An examination of a current topic in Health Humanities. The specific topic will vary from year to year.

In this course, we will examine older age from an arts-based humanistic perspective, with particular focus on the representation of older age in the arts, and the role of arts-based therapies, creative engagement, and humanities-informed research initiatives involving older people and/or the aging process.

This course introduces students to the practice of arts-based health research (ABHR), which involves the formal integration of creative art forms into health research methods and outcomes. Students will learn about the conceptual foundations of ABHR and explore various methods for generating, interpreting and representing health-related research (e.g., narrative, performance, visual arts, digital storytelling, or body mapping). With reference to concrete exemplars and experiential learning in creative forms, students will examine critical issues of methodological quality, evidence, research ethics, implementation challenges, and opportunities for arts-based health research in Canada and the global context.

For close to a century, comics as a medium have examined diverse topics, from the serious to the silly. Drawing Illness draws on interdisciplinary scholarship from disability studies, comics studies, comic histories, medical anthropology, history of medicine and public health to examine the ways in which graphic narratives have been utilized to tell a range of stories about illness, disability, grief, dying, death, and medicine.

This course introduces students to disability history, a subfield within both history and the interdisciplinary field of disability studies. Students will use critical perspectives from disability studies to interpret how the concept of disability has changed over time and across cultures. This course understands disability as a social and political phenomenon and seeks to understand the experiences of disabled people in the past around the world. Students enrolled in this course will read secondary and primary source texts, and draw on lectures, films, memoirs, popular culture, and art to examine the social and cultural construction and experiences of disability. Students will also gain an understanding of how historians conduct research, and the methods and problems of researching disability history. Historical themes include colonialism, industrialization, war, and bureaucracy; regions and time periods studied will be selected at the discretion of the instructor.

This course introduces students to health professions and practice with a focus on understanding the roles and responsibilities of health professionals, their scope of practices, and the key issues and challenges they face. The course will explore the evolution of healthcare delivery systems, the regulatory environment, and the ethical and professional considerations that impact the delivery of health care services through the lens of various health professions. Topics will also include the history and development of health professions and the interprofessional nature of health care delivery. The course will also examine, from the lens of various health professions, key issues and challenges facing health professionals such as health care disparities, health care reform, the use of technology, and other contemporary issues in healthcare.

Throughout the course students will engage in critical thinking, analysis, and discussion of current issues in health professions and practice. The course will also provide opportunities for students to explore potential career paths within the healthcare field and to develop skills necessary for success in health professions such as communication, teamwork and cultural competence.

This is an advanced reading course in special topics for upper level students who have completed the available basic courses in Health and Society and who wish to pursue further intensive study on a relevant topic. Topic selection and approval will depend on the supervising instructor.