410.679.01
Decoloniality and Global Health Communication

Location
East Baltimore
Term
3rd Term
Department
Health, Behavior and Society
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Class Time(s)
Wednesday, 3:00 - 4:50pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Carol Underwood
Tina Suliman
Contact Name
Carol Underwood
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Description
Global communication influences public health policies, informs health interventions, and affects health outcomes around the world, yet the lasting effects of colonialism and abiding unequal power dynamics on health policies and outcomes are often overlooked and rarely explicitly addressed in health communication interventions implemented in low- and middle-income settings. In this course we question our assumptions, analyze communication interventions, and explore ways in which we can contribute to global health endeavors that can enhance health equity and contribute to both social justice and improved health outcomes.
Applies insights from anti-colonialist texts to the field of global health communication. Critically examines the intersection of theories of economic development, social change, and communication as applied to public health. Introduces the complex and dynamic role of global communication in the social determinants of health. Interrogates “development” discourses as applied to health. Investigates health communication endeavors and examines evaluations of communication interventions in low- and middle-income settings around the world.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Summarize the main tenets of seminal anti-colonist texts, including readings from Edward Said, Andre Gunder Frank, and Paulo Freire, among others
  2. Compare and contrast the assumptions and claims of modernization, dependency, participatory, and alternative development theories as applied to global communication and social change
  3. Identify and propose approaches to eliminate remnants of the colonial mindset in public health theories and practice
  4. Describe the complex and dynamic role of global communication in the social determinants of health
  5. Consider the diversity of peoples and cultures, the significance and impact of communication across social ecological levels in a global society, and how they affect health policies and health outcomes
  6. Identify interventions at various levels of the social ecological model that are applicable to global communication and social change
  7. Identify and discuss future directions for global health communication
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 30% Participation
  • 20% Midterm Paper
  • 20% Presentation(s)
  • 30% Final Paper
Instructor Consent
No consent required
Special Comments

This course blends traditional classroom time and outside-of-class activities with a corresponding reduction in class sessions. This class will meet once a week for two hours. Students are expected to spend one hour a week on class work in addition to regular homework. Outside-of-class activities will include selected videos, required participation in selected webinars, and/or attendance at JHSPH events (seminars, discussion series, symposiums) over the course of the term.