The courses are worth one full-year credit and are contingent on adequate enrolment. Students are not permitted to register for more than one course at a time.
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
Over the past several decades, the reorganization of production and labour markets resulting from economic globalization, widening socio-economic inequities, conflict, natural disasters, environmental degradation and, more recently, climate change have combined to become increasingly significant forces shaping both internal and international migration. 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. Incorporating scholarly work from the fields of public health, the social sciences, law, and human rights, the course adopts an interdisciplinary approach and is based on readings, small-group and plenary discussions, lectures, small-group independent projects, 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 direct understanding of the experience of both international and internal migrants, the communities who host them, and the organizations that work to support them.
Prerequisites: Completion of 9.0 credits. Please note 2nd year students will also be considered.
Exclusions: Students who have completed HST405H – Global Migration and Health cannot enroll in this course.
Breadth requirement: Society and Its Institutions
Not Eligible for CR/NCR
Learning Outcomes
- Define key terms, explain core concepts, and recognize the essential features of the human migration phenomenon
- Recall, summarize, and contrast some of the major alternative theories of migration
- Recognize the links between migration and other historical and contemporary global phenomena
- Recognize the role of migration as a structural 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
Field Trips
- Visit to the Center for the protection of Migrants
- Visit to Traditional Indigenous Medicine Centre
- Overnight visit to Mexico City
Instructor
Professor Andrea A. Cortinois is cross appointed between the Human Biology Program (Global Health), 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 as a journalist, researcher, educator, and manager of health-related interventions 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. His research interests focus on the impact of the global economic regime and the polycrisis on migration and health.