Undergraduate Course: Infectious Disease and Global Governance (SCPL10035)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the contemporary governance of infectious disease through a multi-disciplinary social scientific approach. The course examines the way in which the socio-political circumstances underpinning infectious disease impact upon the way in which the diseases are experienced, perceived, constructed, represented, and managed at the local, national and individual levels.
This is a challenging course and students undertaking it should either be studying on a BMedSci or have completed at least two years of undergraduate study in the Social Sciences. |
| Course description |
The course will explore how local, national and global-level factors interlink to determine the way in which infectious diseases are experienced and handled. It emphasises the impact of enduring inequalities at each of these levels in both determining who gets sick and how events are managed. The first part of the course (weeks 1 to 3) will focus upon local-level factors such as cultural practices and social distinctions. The second part of the course (weeks 4 to 6) will examine disease management and the role of the nation-state. Issues to be discussed include the politics of border control and disease surveillance, and the linking of infectious disease with concepts of national security. The final part of the course (weeks 7 to 10) broadens the analytical gaze to the level of the global, critically examining the way in which infectious diseases are framed as a problem for global action. This will include the interrogation of concepts of globalised risk, the co-ordination of various global actors, and analysing the way in which infectious diseases are linked to ideas of sustainable global well-being and economic development. Through this, students will gain an appreciation of the complex interplay of social, political, economic and cultural factors that underpin infectious diseases in global health.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This is a challenging course and students undertaking this course should either be studying on a BMedSci or have completed at least two years of undergraduate study in the School of Social and Political Science. All other students interested in the course should contact the course organiser before enrolling. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Social Policy or closely related courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Please contact the course organiser for permission to enrol on the course. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an awareness of current issues in infectious disease and global health
- Assess the relationship between infectious disease and socio-political structures at the local, national, and global levels
- Consider and analyse the role of key discourses, actors, structures and institutions that underpin the experience and management of infectious disease
- Demonstrate an understanding of various social scientific tools in investigating infectious diseases
- Identify and evaluate academic and policy literatures around infectious disease governance
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Global health,infectious disease,governance |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Tel: (0131 6)51 5471
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Colin Arthur
Tel:
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage