Embodied Justice: Political Economy and Public Health

In what ways do power, privilege, and profit show up in a variety of bodies, including our own? How does a system organized around profit shape and structure our identities, health, choices, and communities? In this interdisciplinary, two -quarter program, we will use the lenses of political economy and public health to delve into the economic, epidemiological, political, and social dimensions that intersect health, money, and power.

We will explore the political economy of the last several decades; we'll learn some tools of political economy and use them to analyze the relationship between the economic structure of human society and impacts on public health. Political economy asks who has what, who does what work, how it got to be that way and how to change it. Through these explorations, we will get a better understanding of the ways in which society itself becomes hierarchical and divided by race, class, gender, and sexuality, and how we embody those disparities.

In winter quarter, we’ll study some of the root causes of inequality to understand better the relationship between poor and working-class people – especially poor and working-class people of color – and health outcomes. Specifically, we will study the U.S. political-economic trajectory over the last 50 years, often referred to as neoliberalism, a process of economic restructuring that has resulted in massive growth in inequality, increases in corporate power, acceleration of climate change, and devastating impacts on people's health. As a culmination of winter quarter, we’ll use the tools of political economy and public health to examine mass incarceration as a mini case study. In spring, we will continue to deepen our understanding of political economy and public health while also expanding our scope to the global level.

We'll also learn about the public health approach to studying health and disease at the population level, and how it lets us see the impacts that social, racial, political, and economic realities have on our bodies over our lifetimes. We will consider policies as both root causes of ill health and as solutions. In spring, we’ll examine reproductive health, politics, and justice as a case study of class, race, gender , and dis/ability as vectors of power and control that affect how reproduction is discussed, legislated, and experienced in the United States. Students will learn about topics in reproductive physiology, and have the option to carry out a dissection of (non-human) reproductive organs.

There will be a substantial amount of reading in a variety of genres. Films will be shown throughout the program. Workshops in economics, globalization, and writing will be used. This program requires all participants to be ready to fully commit themselves to our common work and show a willingness to help build a community of learners.

This program will lead students through intermediate-to-advanced work in two Paths of Study: Political Economy, Global Studies, and Environmental Justice; and Psychology, Health, and Community. Any students interested in political economy, health, and politics (and more!) who have solid academic skills are welcome to join us. Credit over both quarters will be awarded in political economy, public health, sociology, American studies, critical health literacy, and reproductive health and justice.