The minor in Global and Community Health offers students the opportunity to study social inequities and health in theoretically grounded scholarly literature that transcends disciplinary and geographical boundaries. Minors will be exposed to innovative and community-engaged approaches that prepare them to create and communicate evidence-based ideas and solutions to overcome these inequities.

The requirements for the undergraduate minor in Global and Community Health consist of 20 units, including Health Equity and Health Justice, a course taught by SEHE core faculty that introduces theories and methodologies for the study of community health, global and local health inequities. In addition minors must complete four upper-division SEHE courses in Global and Community Health. The GCH minor will provide an academic space in which students can understand their own and others’ lived experiences of health disparities, using arts, humanities and social sciences methodologies, while building knowledge and skills that empower them to promote change.

Lower-division requirements include 1 course (4 units): 

• SEHE 002 Health Equity and Health Justice

Upper-division requirements include 4 courses (16 units):

• SEHE 101 Community Research and Anti-Oppressive Methods
• SEHE 105/GSST 171 Environmental Health and Social Justice
• SEHE 106(S) Movements & Advocacy in Environment & Health
• SEHE 110 Environmental Health in Southern California
• SEHE 116 Intersectionality, Climate Emotions, and Mental Health
• SEHE 123(S)/ GSST 161(S) Gender and Science
• SEHE 129 Food Justice
• SEHE 161/GSST 164 Reproductive Justice
• SEHE 162 Giving Birth
• SEHE 163 Globalizing Roe: The Past, Present, and Future of Abortion Worldwide
• SEHE 172 Public Health: Then and Now
• SEHE 173/ HIST 107 Disease and Society
• SEHE 174 Eugenics, Disability and Social Justice
• SEHE 175 Transforming Toxic Jobs: Health and Work in the United States
• SEHE 176 Race, Gender, and Health: Diasporic Perspectives
• SEHE 178/ SOC 144 Interpersonal Relationship Violence
• SEHE 181/ ANTH 144I Anthropology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• SEHE 182/ ANTH 144K Drugs and Culture
• SEHE 183/ ANTH 144N Anthropology of Global Health
• SEHE 185ABC/SPN 108ABC Spanish for the Health Professions
• SEHE 189 Special Topics in Global and Community Health

Course Descriptions for GCH Minor Curriculum 

SEHE 002 Health Equity and Health Justice  4 Lecture, 3 hours; Discussion, 1 hour. Introduces theories and methodologies for the study of community health, global and local health inequities. Identifies health disparities trends, patterns and causes in the U.S. and globally, including historical, social and structural factors. Considers policies and interventions addressing health disparities, including community-engaged research. 

SEHE 101 Community Research and Anti-Oppressive Methods 4 Lecture, 3 hours; Individual Study, 3 hours. Prerequisites: SEHE 001 or SEHE 002. Addresses research design, research ethics, data collection and management, and public engagement. Reviews and practices disciplinary methods (social science, ethnography, history, critical reading, Science and Technology Studies, statistical analysis, feminist and critical race theories, creative arts, storytelling, community-based and community-engaged research). Employs intersectional approaches to analyze power and inequities.

SEHE 101S Community Research and Anti-Oppressive Methods 5 Lecture, 3 hours; Discussion 1 hour; Individual Study, 3 hours. Prerequisites: SEHE 001 or SEHE 002. Addresses research design, research ethics, data collection and management, and public engagement. Reviews and practices disciplinary methods (social science, ethnography, history, critical reading, Science and Technology Studies, statistical analysis, feminist and critical race theories, creative arts, storytelling, community-based and community-engaged research). Employs intersectional approaches to analyze power and inequities.

SEHE 105 Environmental Health and Social Justice 4 Lecture, 3 hours; activity 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): none. Interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between environmental health and social justice emphasizing gender, race, class, and globalization as analytical lenses. Topics include urban pollution, workplace exposure, industrial catastrophe, invisible environmental hazards, community activism, reproductive health, global capitalism, and new health challenges imposed by climate change. Cross-listed with GSST 171.

SEHE 105S Environmental Health and Social Justice 5 Lecture, 3 hours; Discussion, 1 hour; Activity 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): none. Interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between environmental health and social justice emphasizing gender, race, class, and globalization as analytical lenses. Topics include urban pollution, workplace exposure, industrial catastrophe, invisible environmental hazards, community activism, reproductive health, global capitalism, and new health challenges imposed by climate change. Cross-listed with GSST 171.

SEHE 106 Movements & Advocacy in Environmental Justice & Health Equity 4 Lecture 3 hours; Individual work, 3 hours. Overview of contemporary, comparative, and historical research on social and political movements, including legal and policy advocacy, health equity, sustainability, and environmental justice. Examines the motivations for, visions, and context shaping these movements. Examines movement and advocacy outcomes, challenges, and opportunities for promoting Health equity and Environmental Justice.

SEHE 106S Movements & Advocacy in Environmental Justice & Health Equity 5 Lecture 3 hours; Discussion, 1 hour; Individual work, 3 hours. Overview of contemporary, comparative, and historical research on social and political movements, including legal and policy advocacy, health equity, sustainability, and environmental justice. Examines the motivations for, visions, and context shaping these movements. Examines movement and advocacy outcomes, challenges, and opportunities for promoting Health equity and Environmental Justice.

SEHE 110 Environmental Health in Southern California 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading 2 hours; term paper 1 hour Interdisciplinary cross-examination of environmental challenges, social inequities, and human health consequences in the Southern California region. Topics include logistics industry and air pollution, toxic dust and groundwater contamination from agriculture and military bases, history of oil refineries and waste facilities around marginalized communities, and disparate impacts of extreme heat. 

SEHE 115 Intersectionality, Climate Emotions, and Mental Health 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading, 2 hours. Prerequisite(s): upper-division standing or consent of the instructor. Introduces emotional responses to climate change. Identifies the relationships between emotions and mental health outcomes. Explores the roles of race, gender, age, and social marginalization.

Cross listed with GSST XXX.

SEHE 129 Food Justice 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading 2 hours; term paper 1 hour. Explores relations of power, love, desire, hunger and taste through food and food systems. Considers how food is found, grown, made, bought, sold, shared and consumed. Covers food apartheid and carceral food systems; metabolic disease; nutrition and nourishment; the right to food; and movements to decolonize food systems.

SEHE 123/ SEHE 123S Gender and Science 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): GSST 001 or GSST 001H or GSST 001S; GSST 020 or GSST 020H or GSST 020S or GSST 021. Focuses on the intersections of Western constructions of gender and scientific knowledge since the sixteenth century. Considers the cultural and political roles of the scientist in terms of gender; the structuring of objectivity and objects of study; the status of scientific knowledge; and the emergence of feminist science studies. Credit is awarded for one of the following SEHE 123 or SEHE 123S. Cross-listed with GSST 161/ GSST 161S.

SEHE 161 Reproductive Justice 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): upper-division standing or consent of the instructor. Introduces reproductive justice concepts of intersectionality, systemic oppression, the triple pillar approach, and human rights. Analyzes inequality and power in shaping the reproductive contexts of people’s lives, behaviors, and outcomes. Cross listed with GSST XXX

SEHE 162 Giving Birth 4 Lecture 3 hours; extra reading 1 hours; activity 1 hours; term paper 1 hours. Examines the history of childbirth methods from the medieval period to the present. Compares obstetrics to alternative models of maternity care including midwifery care, homebirth, and traditional birth attendants in the global South. Considers health equity in the context of maternal care and childbirth. 

SEHE 163 Globalizing Roe: The Past, Present, and Future of Abortion Worldwide 4 Lecture 3 hours; Extra reading 1 hour; Research 1 hour; Written work 1 hour. Surveys the modern history of abortion policy and provision from legal, medical, religious, and public health perspectives. Centers the lived experiences of different individuals in their need to access abortion from a global lens. 

SEHE 172 Public Health: Then and Now 4 Lecture 3 hours; Extra reading 1 hour; Research 1 hour; Written work 1 hour. Surveys the modern history of societal attempts to protect the health of human populations. Centers the lived experiences of individuals and cultures in the development of public health globally.

SEHE 173 Disease and Society 4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): upper-division standing or consent of instructor. Covers a world history of disease and how it relates to cultural shocks, environmental change, and survival. Evaluates the complex and reciprocal relationship between illness and society, and the historical dynamics around power, race, gender, and class which define disease and shape life chances, medicine and health. Cross-listed with HIST 107.

SEHE 174 Eugenics, Disability and Social Justice  4 Lecture, 3 hours; extra reading, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): upper-division standing or consent of instructor. Analyzes social movement activism around medicine, health and disability. Topics include Black Panther Party survival programs, medicine and civil rights, occupational safety, HIV/ AIDS, environmental justice, genetic testing, food systems, disability rights and healthcare access.

SEHE 175 Transforming Toxic Jobs: Health and Work in the United States 4 Lecture 3 hours; Extra reading 1 hour; Research 1 hour; Written work 1 hour. Examines research on health and work, including occupational health, how work and employment impact health outcomes and health care, the work experiences of health care providers, the role of policies, and organized efforts by workers and/or their allies and clients to improve health and well-being at work and in the community.

SEHE 176 Race, Gender, and Health: Diasporic Perspectives 4 Lecture 3 hours; Extra reading 1 hour; Research 1 hour; Written work 1 hour. Surveys ways in which historical legacies of slavery and racialization affect the health of racialized peoples from a diasporic perspective, mainly focusing on but not limited to the African diaspora in the Americas.

SEHE 178 Interpersonal Relationship Violence 4 Lecture, 3 hours; discussion, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): SOC 001 with a grade of C- or better or SOC 001H with a grade of C- or better; SOC 004 with a grade of C- or better; SOC 005 with a grade of C- or better; or consent of instructor. Addresses causes, identification, and prevention of and responses to interpersonal relationship violence, such as family violence and partner violence. Examines theories and research findings for practical field application. Promotes better understanding of this common social problem and prepares for careers involving contact with victims and/or perpetrators of relationship violence. Cross-listed with SOC 144.

SEHE 181 Anthropology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 4 Lecture, 3 hours; research, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): Restricted to class level standing of junior, or senior; or consent of instructor. Cross-cultural examination of the global Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic from an anthropological perspective. Cross-listed with ANTH 144I.

SEHE 182 Drugs and Culture 4 Lecture, 3 hours; research, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): Restricted to class level standing of junior, or senior; or consent of instructor. A cross-cultural examination of drug use and its relation to race, class, gender, morality, laws, and health policy. Cross-listed with ANTH 144K.

SEHE 183 Anthropology of Global Health 4 Lecture, 3 hours; research, 3 hours. Prerequisite(s): restricted to class level standing of junior, or senior; or consent of instructor. Examines the overlaps, debates, and potential of medical anthropology to address contemporary issues in global health. Focuses on how the historical development, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and ethical debates within medical anthropology can contribute to a just and inclusive version of “global health.” Cross-listed with ANTH 144N.

SEHE 185ABC Spanish for the Health Professions

Cross-listed with SPN XXXABC

SEHE 189 Special Topics in Global and Community Health 4 Units, Lecture, 3 hours; discussion, 1 hour. Selected topics addressing global and community health. Includes reading, research, and discussion.