This course will introduce students to gender as a theoretical concept and a category of analysis in public health—specifically, the ways in which gender contributes to differentially structuring women and men's experiences of health. The course proposes to answer such questions as: How can understanding gender structures help us interpret public health research? How has gender influenced the construction of public health in diverse societies? How do our social frameworks and structures, such as gender, affect people's experiences and expectations of health? How is the success of behavioral change interventions and the validity of basic behavioral and evaluation research affected by gender? This course emphasizes the epidemiological aspects of gender analysis and the interactions among gender, class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality. The course will cover a broad range of health issues for which gender has been of special importance. Topics covered include: biology, chronic disease, mortality and morbidity, contraceptives, infertility, endometriosis, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, body image, masculinity, weight and shape control behaviors, abortion, and global reproductive health. Additionally, sessions will include global, U.S. domestic, and historical perspectives, with attention primarily paid to the epidemiologic investigation as well as the social and behavioral sciences and health policy dimensions.
WGH 211