This course, though it does discuss medical practices, focuses on health systems and how medical practices, institutionalized within health systems, can legitimize or de-legitimize political movements over time.

Interdisciplinary study of the Andes, emphasizing the continuing encounter between European and indigenous civilizations. Topics include theories of social change and identity formation, religious and cultural syncretism, indigenous political and social movements, and the region's socioeconomic development. Taught on campus in preparation for Bolivia component. 

Global Health

The course aims to provide a theoretical and substantive understanding of the field of global health from a social science perspective. What makes “global health” a field of study at all and why does it matter? Key topics that will be covered include: communicable disease, non-communicable disease, political economy of development, neoliberalism/developmentalism/colonialism, metrics and counting, social determinants of health, ethics, and globalization.

The course aims to provide a theoretical and substantive understanding of the people, cultures, politics and development of Latin America. We ask what defines Latin America as a region and examine key historical, cultural, and political trends from the mid-16th Century through the present. We will also analyze several countries representing major regions of Latin America to understand how they reflect and shape contemporary socio-historical processes. By the end of the term, students will possess:

1. An understanding of the broad forces shaping the region and its people
2. Detailed knowledge about the cultures, conditions, and politics in various countries
3. An awareness of the diversity of Latin American experiences
4. The ability to analyze contemporary events in socio-historical context

The course aims to provide a theoretical and substantive understanding of the field of global health from a social science perspective. What makes “global health” a field of study at all and why does it matter? (I.e. we start with the so what?). We then identify some key issues in global health and how can we study and resolve them. The course also relies heavily on primary and secondary sources coupled with hands-on projects and group work. By the end of the term, students will possess:

1. A working definition of the field of global health, arrived at collaboratively and with support of textual sources
2. An overview of the kinds of data, sources, and analytic techniques employed by social scientists in the field of global health
3. In-depth understanding of several cases, each chosen to illustrate one or more aspects of global health and how these aspects intersect.
4. Key topics covered include:
• Communicable disease
• Non-communicable disease
• Luxury/elective biomedicine
• Healthcare Delivery systems
• Social Determinants of Health (Poverty, Racism, Inequality, etc.)
• Reproduction
• Ethics

This course examines gender in Latin America using historical and ethnographic materials. How are men and women 'supposed' to act in public and private? What influences these roles? What does this tell us about kinship, family structure, and identity in different Latin American communities? Throughout the semester, we examine what 'women's work' means using historical, sociological, ethnographic, and policy materials. We interrogate shifts in gender roles and kinship caused by local and global economic conditions, social movements, and transnational processes. By the end of the semester students will also understand the complex interrelationship between ethnicity, class, and gender. The course culminates in a research paper on a topic of the student's choosing.