UVA Courses: International Fieldwork Preparation
Fall 2009
ENGR 1559 - Special Topics in Engineering/ GDS 1559 - 1 New Course in Global Development Studies
Useful Knowledge in Community
Carol Anne Spreen, Kent Wayland, Robert Swap
Considers engineering practices and principles in their local and global context. Topics vary based upon student and faculty interest.
GDS 3100 - Development on the Ground (3 credits)
Robert Swap
Examines the protocols of planning for and conducting development projects and the research associated with them both locally and internationally. Special attention to the ethical obligations inherent in development work and the dynamics of collaborating with local communities.
PHS 5182 - Emerging Issues in Global Public Health 0.5 units
Richard Handler, Ruth Gaare Bernheim
Global public health as a field of study focuses on the use of tools, skills, & knowledge to benefit the health of everyone, regardless of geogr & polit borders. This seminar will introduce Global Public Health minors to the opportunities & challenges involved in improving global health & topics ranging from infectious diseases & natural disasters to env. toxins & social/political structures. Issues of human rights & soc justice. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission
January Term 2010
EVSC 1050 Ethics, Protocols, and Practice of International Research
Robert Swap
Spring 2010
PHS - 7015 (for undergrads it will be 5015) - Qualitative Methods for Community Research (3 credits)
Fridays 11:30 - 2:00 Jeanita Richardson
This course advances methodological and cultural competency in the design and implementation of community health qualitative research investigations. Modules cover technical aspects of varying methods of collecting data (e.g. interviewing, focus groups, action research and community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the ethical imperative to be culturally competent and humble when engaging participants in national and international contexts.
PHS 7210 (for undergrads 5210) - Community Engagement for Research and Policy (1 credit)
Fridays 10:00 - 11:00 Jeanita Richardson
This course is designed to expose students to community-based factors that influence the health status of populations and strategies to empower communities. More specifically, the principal objective of the class is to provide the rationale for meaningful engagement of diverse communities and strategies that will enhance research and policy protocols designed to improve health status.
PHS 5183 - Emerging Issues in Global Public Health 0.5 units
Richard Handler, Ruth Gaare Bernheim
Global public health as a field of study focuses on the use of tools, skills, & knowledge to benefit the health of everyone, regardless of geogr & polit borders. This seminar will introduce Global Public Health minors to the opportunities & challenges involved in improving global health & topics ranging from infectious diseases & natural disasters to env. toxins & social/political structures. Issues of human rights & soc justice.
ENGR 3020 Introduction to Engineering in Context
Dana Elzey, Kathryn Neeley
This course provides students with realistic and contemporary perspectives on the practice of engineering. A key objective is to improve understanding and appreciation for the role of contextual factors in engineering practice, with emphasis on the interactions between technological, organizational and cultural aspects. Invited speakers from industry, community organizations and academic research present and discuss their perspectives on these contextual interactions and professional challenges. The course helps students prepare for their senior thesis by structuring the search for topics, which are of strong interest to the student and likely to provide real benefits to the client and other stakeholders. Finally, students may generate proposals leading to funded, multidisciplinary team capstone projects in their 4th year. Prerequisite: 3rd year standing.
PHS 7559 Global Health Research Methodologies: Case Studies from Limpopo Province and Beyond (3 credits + optional 1 credit lab)
Gerard Learmonth (Systems Engineering) &
Rebecca Dillingham (Medicine/Infectious Diseases, Public Health)
This is an introduction to global health research methodologies, using examples from UVa's collaboration with the University of Venda in Limpopo Province, South Africa and other international research. Modules in the course will include: Introduction to epidemiology; community assessment; survey development; introduction to data management; use of information technology and communication in global health research; use of GIS in global health research; community mediation in global health; introduction to qualitative methods in global health; introduction to a systems approach to global health; and global health research ethics.
The 1 credit hands-on laboratory will include three major activities to introduce students to useful research tools. First, mobile technologies used in global health research will be presented. Exemplifying the convergence in hardware and communication technology, third generation (3G) mobile telephones will be examined as data collection devices using their dual ability to support voice calls as well as highspeed data access. In particular, the students will become familiar with Nokia Data Gathering Software. Students will also be trained in simple mapping techniques and basic microbiology and water testing procedures.
ELDF 5500 Anthropology of Global Heath, Development, and Education
Diane Hoffman, Curry School of Education in collaboration with Faculty from the School of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Global Health
In today's environment it is increasingly recognized that global social progress is a complex phenomenon dependent upon interactions that occur across multiple domains of human activity. Human health is a biological as well as a social construct reflecting local cultural understandings, societal practices, educational processes and the influence of globalizing ideologies and practices. Education in turn is shaped by cultural and social contexts and exerts a powerful force on health outcomes, while health status in turn shapes educational outcomes. Furthermore, the activities associated with development efforts exist in tension with both local and global ideologies concerning health and education.
Considering health through biomedical and social constructivist perspectives, this course will engage students in an exploration of the multifaceted interactions of health, culture, and education as they current play out in the context of development practices and ideologies as they are being enacted in numerous countries around the world, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We will read extensively in the literature on anthropology and development as well as on the social contexts of health and education. The course will utilize the expertise of faculty across Grounds, including Education, Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Global Health.
The aim to develop awareness of the many ways in which culture impacts development in the arenas of global health and education, and how better models of culturally informed inquiry can assist in that process.
Summer 2010
EVSC 4060 - People, Culture, and Environment of Southern Africa
Robert Swap
This course focuses on anthropogenic impacts on the environment and environmental contributions to the development of peoples and cultures in South Africa and Mozambique, with emphasis on the links between history, culture, power, and the environment. This course is offered concurrently with ANTH 461. Students must be enrolled in both.