Issues in health education
Dr R Small
First semester * Clayton
Health education uses concepts that are sometimes taken for granted, without undergoing critical examination. Is health the absence of disease, or a positive state of well-being? Do the concepts of `mental' health and illness make sense? How important are the social meanings of illness? Does a `holistic' concept of health, welfare and happiness provide a better model than the accepted standpoint? Questions like these provide the starting-point for this subject, which explores various conceptual or philosophical problems underlying health issues. The concept of the individual person as an autonomous being, owner of his or her body, is one guiding theme for health education. But many such ideas change over time: for instance, developments in medical science and technology have influenced our beliefs about the limits of human life. Birth and death are no longer straightforward concepts. Is the notion of the `sanctity' of life still adequate? More generally, to what extent do the changing attitudes or concerns of society determine the agenda for health education? We will approach these broad questions by looking into various controversial issues. Students will be expected to monitor current developments in health education and related areas, and to follow their own interests within the framework of the subject.
Assessment
Written (2500 words): 100% * Seminar participation/Folio of articles or other material drawn from current sources, dealing with some main issue included in the program or relevant to the subject
Recommended text
Glover J Causing death and saving lives Penguin, 1977