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77400-01 - Practical course: Staying Alive: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Health in the Anthropocene (2 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Sahana Srinivasan (sahana.srinivasan@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | All humans want, and deserve, a life of health and well-being. But what is this “health” we strive to, and how do we attain and maintain it? This course focuses on the fundamental notion of health. We begin by defining health, and the lack of it (i.e., disease) from biological and medical perspectives. We will then explore the human experience of health and disease through representations in popular media and literature. Finally, we will interrogate how medical, healthcare, and pharmaceutical constructs define, shape, and drive current sociocultural experiences of health. Using concepts from molecular biology, sociology, medical anthropology, science and technology studies (STS), and media analysis (and more), we ultimately aim to integrate the social and the scientific: how does society, and how do humans, access and utilize health(care)? Can we do better? What would a different collective future look like? |
| Learning objectives | Students iteratively explore a basic phenomenon through multiple disciplinary lenses in order to identify and critically engage with how diverse realms of knowledge production rely on, strengthen, and perpetuate existing power constructs. |
| Bibliography | Readings for this class may include (among others): “The Birth of Biopolitics”, Michel Foucault (1976) “Necropolitics”, Achille Mbembe (2019) “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code”, Ruha Benjamin (2019) (selected chapter/s) “Justifying a Lower Standard of Health Care for the World’s Poor: A Call for Decolonizing Global Health”, Salmaan Keshavjee (2023) |
| Comments | No prior knowledge of biology and/or medicine is required for this class. |
| Admission requirements | Grundstudium abgeschlossen. Die Teilnehmenden werden nach Fachrichtung, Studiengang und in der Reihenfolge ihrer Anmeldung auf die Liste gesetzt. Wer im Rahmen von Auslandaufenthalten und von Austauschprogrammen in Basel studiert wird unabhängig vom Listenplatz immer aufgenommen. Wer in der ersten Sitzung unentschuldigt fehlt, kann die Lehrveranstaltung nicht besuchen. Pro Lehrveranstaltung mit zwei Semesterwochenstunden sind maximal zwei entschuldigte Absenzen möglich. Siehe Merkblatt zum Umgang mit Absenzen und Sonderregelungen: https://kulturwissenschaft.philhist.unibas.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/kulturwissenschaft/Dokumente/Studium/Merkblaetter_allgemein/B_absenzen-sonderregelungen_24-01.pdf. |
| Course application | Belegen über services.unibas.ch |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 23.09.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 30.09.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 07.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 14.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 21.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 28.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 04.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 11.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 18.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 25.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 02.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 09.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Tuesday 16.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.002 |
| Modules |
Electives Bachelor History: Recommendations (Bachelor's degree subject: History) European History in Global Perspective (Master's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Modul: Research Lab Kulturanthropologie (Master's degree subject: Cultural Anthropology) Modul: Sachthemen der Ethnologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Vertiefung Themenfelder der Geschlechterforschung (Master's degree subject: Gender Studies) Module: Fields: Public Health and Social Life (Master's degree program: African Studies) Specialization Module Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Wahlbereich Bachelor Medienwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Bachelor's degree subject: Media Studies) Wahlbereich Master Geschichte: Empfehlungen (Master's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Kulturwissenschaft und Europäische Ethnologie |