Dalla Lana School of Public Health

African/​Black Health I: Sociohistorical Overview of Black Health

Course Description

This course will provide students with an in-depth overview of anti-Black racism and colonialism and their impact on the health of African/Black populations from an intersectional perspective. This overview will examine the linkages between the construction of race, and the realities of anti-Black racism from the transatlantic slave trade to historical and contemporary policies and practices that have negatively impacted the health of African descendants and their communities within Canada and in transnational contexts. The course will be grounded in an intersectional framework that will examine anti-Black racism as intrinsically linked to other social determinants of health, including social exclusion based on categories such as gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identities, disabilities, as well as spiritualities/religious affiliations.

Course Objectives

Students completing this course will be able to demonstrate:

1. In-depth knowledge of the social historical contexts of Black Public Health through an intersectional, anti-racist, anti-oppression, anti-colonial framework;
2. Critical understanding on anti-Black racism and colonialism and their impact on the health of African/Black populations from an intersectional;
3. Knowledge of key foundational African/Black epistemologies and ways of knowing;
4. Knowledge of key issues impacting Black Health.

Method of Assessment

Facilitation	25%
Written Assignments (65%) Reflective Paper Paper Proposal Annotated Bibliography Final Research Paper	5% 10% 20% 30%
Participation	10%