This Course at MIT

This Course at MIT pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course WGS.151 Gender, Health, and Society as it was taught by Dr. Brittany Charlton in Spring 2016.

This interdisciplinary course introduces students to gender as a theoretical concept and examines its relation to health, including public health practice, epidemiologic research, health policy, and clinical application. The focus includes global, domestic, and historical perspectives, using the following examples: cardiovascular disease, hormone therapy, pregnancy, birth, sexually transmitted infections, abortion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, contraceptives, and mental health.

The course draws on different disciplines, conceptual frameworks, and methodologic approaches in order to explore gender in relation to health while also considering other social determinants of health, including social class and race.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

  • Describe differences between gender, sex-linked biology, and sexuality as well as critically evaluate their use in health research, social and behavioral sciences, and health policy
  • Evaluate the breadth of research and research methods in the study of gender and health
  • Apply theoretical and methodological constructs learned in class to a range of health issues, taking into consideration additional social determinants including social class and race
 

Instructor Insights

Students bring a broad range of experiences to the course. For some students, this is the first time they are engaging with how sex-linked biology differs from gender. Other students have yet to think about health in an academic context. With good facilitation, these diverse groups of students can teach one another.

—Brittany Charlton

In the following pages, Dr. Brittany Charlton describes various aspects of how she teaches WGS.151 Gender, Health, and Society.

 

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

None

Requirements Satisfied

HASS

WGS.151 can be applied toward a Bachelor of Science in Humanities and Science or a Bachelor of Science in Humanities and Engineering, but is not required.

Offered

Every spring semester

The Classroom

  • A well-lit, medium-sized carpeted classroom with five rows of green moveable furniture tablet armchairs.

    Room 1 of 1

    Lecture

    This course was taught in a medium-sized classroom equipped with two chalkboards and a LCD video projector.

 

Assessment

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by Class participation. 20% Class participation
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the weekly reading reflections. 15% Weekly reading reflections
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the testimony or Opinion in preparation for the in-class mock state assembly meeting. 15% Testimony or Opinion in preparation for the in-class mock state assembly meeting
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the final project proposal. 10% Final project proposal
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the final project. 30% Final project
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the final project presentation. 10% Final project presentation
 

Student Information

30 Students took this course in Spring 2016

Breakdown by Year

The course enrollment was primarily made up of third and fourth year students with a handful of second year students, as well as a few first year and graduate students.

Breakdown by Major

Students had various majors ranging from biology to chemical engineering to computer science. A number of students also cross-registered from Wellesley College.

Typical Student Background

This was the first Women and Gender Studies course for about half of the students. About a third of the students expressed an interest in pursuing some kind of career related to the course material (e.g., medicine, public health, public policy).

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

Lecture

3 hours per week
  • Met once a week for 3 hours per session; 10 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
  • All students were expected to complete the readings and to participate in classroom discussions and activities.
  • During week 5, students participated in a mock state assembly meeting on HPV vaccinations, during which they either had testimony to delivery (as a witness) or a written opinion (as an assembly member).
 

Out of Class

9 hours per week
  • Readings in preparation for class sessions
  • 8 weekly reading reflections
  • Preparation for mock state assembly meeting
  • Final project and proposal
  • One presentation