The course is worth one full-year credit and is contingent on adequate enrolment.
Classes will take place Monday to Thursday from approximately 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Field trips will occur during scheduled class time AND outside of class time. A detailed schedule will be available at the time of admission.
HMB395Y0 Global Migration and Health – Perspectives from the Field
HMB395Y0 adopts an interdisciplinary approach to introduce students to human migration as an increasingly significant contemporary global phenomenon and a fundamental determinant of health. Impacted by and interacting with other structural determinants of health, migration influences the health status of those who move and of individuals, communities, and entire societies in countries of origin, transit, and resettlement, presenting significant challenges in terms of both policy development and health care organization and delivery. Incorporating scholarly work from the fields of public health, the social sciences, law, and human rights, the course is based on readings, small-group and plenary discussions, lectures, and experiential activities. As Mexico is at the same time the country with the largest number of emigrants in the world, a major migration route, and an increasingly important migration destination, it represents an ideal location for a course of this nature. By taking this course, students will have the opportunity to acquire a more direct understanding of the experience of both international and internal migrants, the communities who host them, and the organizations that work to support them, than the one they would get by taking a comparable course offered on campus, in Toronto, due to the relative geographic isolation of Canada and the particular features of the Canadian immigration system.
Prerequisites: Completion of 9.0 credits
Exclusions: Students who have completed HST405H – Global Migration and Health cannot enroll in this course
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Define key terms, explain core concepts, and recognize the essential features of the human migration phenomenon
- Recognize the links between migration and other historical and contemporary global phenomena
- Recall, summarize, and contrast some of the major theories of migration
- Analyze the role of migration as a social determinant of health and its interactions with other determinants
- Apply critical, practical and creative thinking to the analysis of specific migration & health issues; and,
- Locate and assess additional resources and identify further opportunities for personal and professional development in the migration & health field
Assessment Scheme
Active contribution to the course 10%
Weekly assignments (four, 10% each) 40%
In-class presentation (group assignment) 20%
Term paper (due after return). 30%
Course Syllabus
The final version of the course syllabus and a complete list of both required and optional readings will be available on the Quercus course site. Please view the preliminary syllabus HERE.
Field Trips
The course will include local day trips to meet representatives of community-based organizations offering health and other human services to migrants. It will also include a four-day trip to Mexico City, at the end of the course, to meet representatives of national and international organizations responsible for migrants in Mexico and Central America, advocates working in defense of the rights of migrants, and researchers from some of the major academic institutions in the country.
Instructor
Professor Andrea A. Cortinois is cross appointed between the Human Biology Program, Faculty of Arts and Science, and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Both his Master program, which he completed in the UK, and his doctoral degree, in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, at the University of Toronto, focused on migration and health. He has 30 years of experience in global health, working on four continents and in at least 15 countries, including Mexico, for the most part in the Global South. He has spent many years in Central and South America, has a good cultural understanding of the region, and speaks Spanish fluently. At the University of Toronto, Dr Cortinois has been teaching courses in global health and migration and health, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, since 2006.