MHEO 461 Immersion: Arizona
This experiential course takes place in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, on and around the US-Mexico border, and focuses on the history,context, and challenges of the border and borderlands region. Students will employ a social justice lens to explore and analyze the unique and complex confluence of political, social, and environmental challenges in the area. What is the answer to the “migration crisis”? What does food sovereignty look like in the desert, especially for Indigenous and POC folks? What are the effects of extractive industry and how can moving towards a more restorative model reap health and economic benefits for border communities? What do bats and monarch butterflies have to do with public health? We will have the opportunity to learn from local community partners in the field who answer these questions every day, using innovative models to respond to complex, compounding challenges. Students will apply a root-cause analysis to examine the impacts of poverty and oppression on health, and will consider the importance of community-driven models of development and social justice.
Prerequisite
No Self Registration