DDRO 27A28 - Public health policy : current challenges and debates

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted society on a global level and has highlighted the critical importance of public health and of policymaking in this field. Against this background, this seminar will provide students with the opportunity to reflect on the most important issues in current public health policy. Topics discussed in this course include policies to fight infectious diseases (notably COVID-19 and HIV); public mental and sleep health; women's health; human genetic engineering; tobacco, alcohol, and food regulation; medical research policies; and organ donation and allocation. Through these topics, students will also explore the fundamental questions raised by public health policies, e.g.: Under which conditions should the State be able to interfere in individuals' autonomy to ‘protect' themselves and society? Under what circumstances are limitations of fundamental rights of individuals for the benefit of a community or society as a whole justified? What should the State do to reduce health inequalities and to promote social justice in health? This course is open to students from all academic backgrounds. Public health issues are of relevance to all disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities (including political sciences, human rights, law, journalism, sociology, economics, and gender studies). Their importance will likely increase in the future, as evidenced by both the ongoing COVID-19 and the ‘silent' non-communicable diseases pandemics.

Julian Werner MÄRZ,Marie-Hélène SPIESS

Séminaire

English

Spring 2021-2022

Participation (10%) Presentation (15%) Short commentary on a research article (20%) Final research paper (55%)