Gender and Health

This subject is not offered in 2014.

120 hours

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website.

This subject will introduce sex/gender as a social construct. We will take a historical perspective to explore the women’s health and men’s health movements. We will compare and contrast the health of men and women and critically analyse the explanations that have been offered for both the differences and similarities. Case studies will be used to illustrate the contemporary ways in which practices of health care are gendered and the consequences for health (e.g. psychiatry, HRT use, cancer, heart disease and medical consultations). We will also analyse the ways in which public health programs are gendered and the consequences for health (e.g. screening programs, tobacco cessation etc). Finally, we will analyse the health consequences of gender relations in day-to-day life (e.g. in employment, housing, family).

At the completion of this subject, students should be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Understand the social construction of sex/gender
• Use a historical perspective to understand the ways that gender and health are related
• Apply the theories of gender to health problems
• Apply the theories of gender to health promotion and public and social policy

• One class presentation of 20 mins (equivalent of 1000 words) during semester (20%)
• One essay due mid-semester, 1000 words (20%)
• One essay due end of semester, 3000 words (60%)

Students will have access to electronic copies of relevant readings.

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This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this subject a student should have:

• Advanced written and oral communication skills
• Advanced skills in cross-disciplinary analysis
• Advanced skills in reading critically within and across a range of academic disciplines
• Advanced skills in critical analysis of academic theories.