Women's Sports and Empowerment

Occidental College Dept. of Kinesiology and Dept. of Urban and Environmental Policy

This course will explore the impact of sports participation on female experience, specifically considering multilevel psychological and socio-cultural women’s empowerment measures, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and solidarity. Focusing primarily on soccer, we will consider the possibility that the very act of training the body through sports contributes to a greater sense of ownership of one’s body – a critical psychological state for women’s health, personal security, and ultimately empowerment. Through the framework of social cognitive theory of gender development, we will also examine the relationship between, physicality, psychology, and gender identity development. Finally, over the course of the semester, we will vet sports participation as an intervention to address gender inequality, including the impact of relevant policy, such as Title IX. Through a community-based learning component, students will have the chance to engage in qualitative inquiry on the effect of sports on health and self-concept.

Introduction to Public Health

Occidental College Dept. of Urban and Environmental Policy

Course Description: This course is designed to help students understand that sustainable human development hinges on the efficacious implementation of public health strategy. Public health is an evolving and interdisciplinary field that integrates knowledge and methods from hard sciences, social sciences, and public policy. In this course, students will gain an understanding of public health analytical and scientific methods. We will also explore theoretical foundations of public health practice and intervention design. A major theme of this course will be health disparities: an examination of how and why health risks vary among different populations in the Los Angeles area, in the United States, and around the world. We will also explore the role of science in policy-making. Topics to be covered include: epidemiological methods, social determinants of health, environmental health risks, chronic diseases and aging, global public health challenges, women’s health and empowerment, and neighborhood effects on health.

Objectives: This is a survey course intended to give students a foundational understanding of the goals, approaches, and methods that underlie public health practice. This knowledge base includes a basic understanding of the scientific methods for assessing and analyzing human health problems and risk factors, as well as a basic understanding of theoretical underpinnings that inform our strategies for intervention design and health promotion. Students will also be exposed to a range of public health case studies and will be able to critically assess public health issues appearing in scholarly publications and the popular press by applying interdisciplinary frameworks. Finally, students will benefit from practicing oral and written communication of scientific ideas.

Environment and Sustainability

UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Course Description: There are a number of social, demographic, and ecological changes concurrently affecting the natural environment. This course attempts to disentangle interactions between the environment and mankind, to describe the worldwide environmental degradation currently being wrought by human activities, and to highlight the environmental protection and restoration essential to the long-term well being of Earth's human population. The course covers case studies illustrating how natural and social scientists work on environmental sustainability issues.

Because today's environmental problems relate to many different areas of human knowledge, this course addresses a myriad of topics from multiple disciplinary perspectives. This course will provide and introduction to sustainability with an emphasis on the environmental component including Earth’s physical, chemical and biological processes as related to resource demands and management. This class also includes an examination of the application of the scientific method in helping to understand and solve sustainability problems. Topics to be covered include global climate change, biodiversity, pollution, human health, water, and energy resources presented in the context of creating a sustainable human society that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just and equitable.

Students will develop a fundamental understanding of sustainability and understand the interrelationships between humans and the natural environment that define sustainability. Students will gain a working understanding of Earth’s physical, chemical and biological processes as related to sustainability issues. Students will come to understand how natural and social scientists work and how scientific principles and methods are used to examine and solve environmental sustainability problems. Students will (hopefully) be inspired to make scientifically informed decisions on sustainability issues and consider appropriate personal changes to become a more responsible global citizen and live a more sustainable life.

Global and Community Health

Loyola Marymount University Department of Health and Human Sciences

Course Description: This course will address all different kinds of health issues in the local community and around the globe. Global and Community Health will address issues on LMU’s campus, in Los Angeles, in the United States and in other regions of the world. These aspects of health include physical, intellectual, social, spiritual and emotional. The primary topics will be health promotion, disease prevention, health systems, consumer health issues, communicable diseases and chronic health problems. Each of these issues will be addressed from the perspective of each of the communities previously stated. Critical thinking will be a major component of this course and ethical and environmental considerations will also be addressed. The topics will be timely and applicable to current health concerns around the globe. There will also be a focus on health promotion and how best to address the health concerns in the variety of communities discussed. There will also be extensive comparison of various types of reimbursement for health care services.

Environmental Health and Policy

Occidental College Dept. of Urban and Environmental Policy

Course Description: This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the environmental factors impacting human and ecological health, including consequences of natural and human-made hazards. Environmental health is a rapidly growing and interdisciplinary field that involves both science and public policy. It is integrated into numerous aspects of our lives, both directly and indirectly. Topics to be covered include food safety, water access and equality, pesticides, air quality, the identification of environmental hazards, the assessment of various risks (including exposure to dangerous chemicals used in toys, food, workplaces, and other activities), and the social and biological causes of disease (epidemiology), Students will gain an understanding of environmental health analytical and scientific methods. We will also explore ways that communities and policy-makers seek to address environmental health challenges. A common thread running through the course will be an examination of how exposure to environmental and health risks vary among different population groups, in the Los Angeles area, in the United States, and around the world. We will also explore the role of science in environmental policy-making, the enforcement of regulations, and the efforts of community groups to influence public policy.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge in major areas of environmental health;
Understand basic scientific methods for assessing the impacts of environmental hazards on human health;
Understand and use scientific frameworks to interpret environmental health information and data;
Critically assess environmental health issues appearing in scholarly publications and the popular press;
Practice communicating scientific ideas and results in language that can be generally understood;
Work with classmates from other disciplines in order to realize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches for solving environmental health problems;
Apply scientific, social and political frameworks for understanding conflicts in the realms of science, public health, environmental policy-making and regulation.

Personal Health and Wellness

Loyola Marymount University Department of Health and Human Sciences

Course Description: The definition of health is becoming more inclusive; and health is no longer merely the absence of disease. Today, health connotes a fairly conflated notion of wellbeing. In this more comprehensive paradigm, there are more considerations than ever before. This course is designed to survey contemporary health issues and to explain the circumstances and behaviors that promote health and wellbeing. Topics to be covered include healthcare access and insurance; complementary and alternative medicine; nutrition and physical activity; mental health and stress management; environmental health; social health issues (i.e. gun violence, intimate partner violence, and substance abuse); disaster preparedness; maternal health; chronic illness and disability; and aging. A major theme in this course will be an examination of how health is a product of the interactions between genetics, biology, environment, personal choices, and social risk factors (i.e. race, ethnicity income, gender, education level). Students will develop knowledge of contemporary health issues, disparity in health risk, and best practices for prevention, treatment, and management of several conditions. Students will learn how to apply knowledge of several health issues to their own lives to improve their own health and quality of life. Students will also be able to critically interpret health issues appearing in scholarly publications and the popular media by applying scientific methods and theories of health risk and health behavior. Finally, students will benefit from practicing oral and written communication of scientific ideas.

Dynamics of Climate and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa

UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Course Description: This course focuses on one of the most important dynamics influencing health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa – the dynamics of climate and health. Insofar as human health can be considered a fundamental starting point for sustainable development, this course also addresses economic and social development. The central objectives of the course are as follows:

To recreate perceptions of sub-Saharan Africa and develop a geographic and socio-political context for study
To consider cultural and political influences on human-environment interactions and the reverse influences (i.e. influences of environment on culture and politics)
To understand how imminent climate change can impact African societies and human health, specifically in regards to water availability, food security, infectious disease proliferation, and conflict
To consider the potential of policy interventions developed by multilateral, regional, and national agencies to mitigate adverse health impacts of climate change and climate variability
To consider the potential of innovative science and technology to reduce the risk of and lessen vulnerability to climate change and climate variability

The tremendous geographical diversity, biodiversity, and cultural diversity complicate human-environment interfaces on the African continent. As such, one aim of this course is to explicate these interactions through the use of various case study examples.

Global Environment

UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Course Description: This three-course cluster addresses one of the most pressing social issues of our time -- the relationships between the world's rapidly growing human population and the global environment that makes human existence possible. The course discusses many interactions between the environment and mankind, the worldwide environmental degradation currently being wrought by human activities, and the environmental protection and restoration essential to the long-term well being of Earth's human population. Because today's environmental problems relate to many different areas of human knowledge, this course cluster is team-taught by faculty and fellows from different departments. Each lecturer will present the concepts, perspectives, skills, and tools that his or her academic discipline can contribute to the formidable task of restoring worldwide environmental health. The courses are designed for students from all backgrounds and should appeal to those who wish to learn more about current environmental issues widely discussed in the public and scientific media.

The African Woman and Her Environment

UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Course Description: The purpose of this course is to study how women in Africa interact with their natural environment and how these interactions impact their health and well-being over their life course. The central objectives of the course are as follows:

To recreate perceptions of sub-Saharan Africa and develop a geographical, environmental, and socio-political context for study
To become familiar with a few theories of gender, health, and human-environment interaction and to learn how theories help us to organize our approach to studying societies
To understand how socially-constructed gender norms and gendered environmental interactions uniquely impact women’s health and well-being over their life

Special Topics in Business: Global Green Business Week for Young Leaders

UCLA Anderson School of Business

Course Description: Leadership is a subjective concept, partly because the demonstration of leadership is usually situational. However, over the course of this one week intensive course, there are several general leadership characteristics that we will focus on developing in the context of environmental sustainability agendas. They include, but are not necessarily limited to

Synthesizing information across disciplines
Simultaneously appreciating micro- and macro- concerns within an (environmental) issue
Establishing social and environmental responsibility as personal and organizational culture
Creative problem solving and agile thinking
Effectively and persuasively communicating to broad audiences
Cooperating with diverse stakeholders
Facilitating the development of others

All of these skills will empower and enable students to initiate environmentally sustainable changes within any type of organization, regardless of one's position within that organization. In this course, students will work on developing these leadership characteristics as they enhance their knowledge base on sustainability issues. Students will be challenged to develop a research proposal that simultaneously addresses the sustainability “triple bottom line” of environmental, social, and economic considerations.