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230213 SE Postcolonial entanglements in global health (2018S)
an STS perspective
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Mo 05.02.2018 08:00 to Th 22.02.2018 23:59
- Deregistration possible until We 21.03.2018 23:59
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- Wednesday 07.03. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien (Kickoff Class)
- Wednesday 14.03. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 21.03. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 11.04. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 18.04. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 25.04. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 02.05. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 09.05. 13:45 - 15:45 STS Bibliothek, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 16.05. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 23.05. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
- Wednesday 30.05. 13:45 - 15:45 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Technoscientific developments in health and medicine appear to be proliferating in various places across the globe, many of which have commonly not been imagined as centers of ‘modern’ science. A few examples can illustrate the many forms these global circulations of knowledge, technology, and disease may take. Recent efforts in the domain of genome editing or stem cell research are located in countries like China and India as much as in Europe and North-America. Clinical trials for new pharmaceuticals are increasingly held in places ranging from the former Soviet bloc to various countries in Africa. Moreover pandemics like SARS and various forms of influenza are commonly understood to travel freely between major cities everywhere / albeit with locally very different results.Yet while many of these phenomena appear novel, following on the heels of increasing cross-national circulation of goods, people, and information / for better or worse / a sensibility for longer histories of global entanglements may complicate the picture. In this seminar, we seek to develop such a sensibility by tying transformations in science, medicine and health beyond the traditional ‘West’ to postcolonial approaches to the study of science, technology, and society. The purpose of this seminar is to provide students with resources for a critical understanding of contemporary developments in global health research and innovation.We begin the seminar by exploring postcolonial perspectives both within and beyond STS, before engaging with particular sites and forms of the global circulation of science and technology related to health. In two workshop-sessions, we further apply approaches from the literature to specific examples. The seminar thereby offers students resources to theorize global circulations of science and technologies; introduces core themes related to global health and medicine in STS; and trains the application of analytical skills to particular (shorter) writing formats.For this seminar students receive literature suggestions and are expected to select their own readings from them, and report on their selection. For completion of the seminar, students will therefore have to provide written summaries of their selected texts and are expected to actively participate in class discussions. Furthermore, students are expected to complete two shorter writing exercises in relation to the discussion workshops. Finally, students have to write a seminar paper on a self-selected case that is related to the course, in which they apply insights from the seminar.
Assessment and permitted materials
To pass the seminar, students are expected to complete the following tasks:
Read all literature listed as obligatory and the number of suggested readings listed for each session (see seminar schedule);
Actively participate in class discussions;
Provide a summary of the readings prepared for each session (see above). The length of each reading summary should be 1-2 pages and include a summary of the texts’ main arguments (note that not all students will read the same texts), and 2-3 questions that link the readings to the theme of the session. Summaries should be uploaded to Moodle by Monday night before each session;
Complete two short writing exercises on the basis of the discussion workshops. On the basis of the first workshop (18.4.), students are expected to write a ‘letter to the editor’; a short response to the case discussed in the workshop. Maximum length is 500 words. On the basis of the second workshop (16.5.), students are expected to write a blogpost in which they reflect on the case discussed in the workshop. The post should be 750-850 words long. Assessment criteria include the ability to develop a coherent argument in a (relatively) short text; the quality of the argument itself; and the stylistic quality for the kind of text requested. The deadline for the first assignment is the 30th of April 2018; for the second it is the 8th of June 2018;
Write a seminar paper on an issue/case relevant to the themes of the course, in which the student shows both mastery of the literature discussed in the course and the ability to apply it. Themes for the paper must be presented and discussed in the final session. Papers should be ca. 5000 words in length, and be handed in on or before the 30th of July 2018.
Read all literature listed as obligatory and the number of suggested readings listed for each session (see seminar schedule);
Actively participate in class discussions;
Provide a summary of the readings prepared for each session (see above). The length of each reading summary should be 1-2 pages and include a summary of the texts’ main arguments (note that not all students will read the same texts), and 2-3 questions that link the readings to the theme of the session. Summaries should be uploaded to Moodle by Monday night before each session;
Complete two short writing exercises on the basis of the discussion workshops. On the basis of the first workshop (18.4.), students are expected to write a ‘letter to the editor’; a short response to the case discussed in the workshop. Maximum length is 500 words. On the basis of the second workshop (16.5.), students are expected to write a blogpost in which they reflect on the case discussed in the workshop. The post should be 750-850 words long. Assessment criteria include the ability to develop a coherent argument in a (relatively) short text; the quality of the argument itself; and the stylistic quality for the kind of text requested. The deadline for the first assignment is the 30th of April 2018; for the second it is the 8th of June 2018;
Write a seminar paper on an issue/case relevant to the themes of the course, in which the student shows both mastery of the literature discussed in the course and the ability to apply it. Themes for the paper must be presented and discussed in the final session. Papers should be ca. 5000 words in length, and be handed in on or before the 30th of July 2018.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
The grading of the course is based on the separate assessment of different tasks on a scale of 1-5.Preparation for and participation in seminar units: 10 percent, assessed individually, feedback on request
Preparing and uploading weekly reading summaries: 15 percent,
assessed individually, feedback on request
‘Letter to the editor’-style short (500 word) response to the first workshop: 20 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturer
Blog post (750-850 words) on the basis of the second workshop:
20 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturer
Seminar paper: 35 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturerMinimum requirements
To successfully complete the course, a weighted average of at least 4,5 is required. Failure to meet the
attendance regulations, to deliver course assignments on time or to adhere to standards of academic
work may also be considered in the course assessment.Attendance
Presence and participation is compulsory. Absences of four hours at maximum are tolerated, provided that the lecturer is informed about the absence. Absences of up to eight hours in total may be compensated by either a deduction of grading points or/and extra work agreed with the lecturer. Whether compensation is possible is decided by the lecturer.
Absences of more than eight hours in total cannot be compensated. In this case, or if the lecturer does not allow a student to compensate absences of more than four hours, the course cannot be completed and is graded as a ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfil the attendance requirements on the student’s side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.Important Grading Information
If not explicitly noted otherwise, all requirements mentioned in the grading scheme and the attendance regulations must be met. If a required task is not fulfilled, e.g. a required assignment is not handed in or if the student does not meet the attendance requirements, this will be considered as a discontinuation of the course. In that case, the course will be graded as ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfill the task on the student's side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.
If any requirement of the course has been fulfilled by fraudulent means, be it for example by cheating at an exam, plagiarizing parts of a written assignment or by faking signatures on an attendance sheet, the student's participation in the course will be discontinued, the entire course will be graded as ‘not assessed’ and will be entered into the electronic exam record as ‘fraudulently obtained’. Self-plagiarism, particularly re-using own work handed in for other courses, will be treated likewise.
Preparing and uploading weekly reading summaries: 15 percent,
assessed individually, feedback on request
‘Letter to the editor’-style short (500 word) response to the first workshop: 20 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturer
Blog post (750-850 words) on the basis of the second workshop:
20 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturer
Seminar paper: 35 percent, assessed individually, feedback by lecturerMinimum requirements
To successfully complete the course, a weighted average of at least 4,5 is required. Failure to meet the
attendance regulations, to deliver course assignments on time or to adhere to standards of academic
work may also be considered in the course assessment.Attendance
Presence and participation is compulsory. Absences of four hours at maximum are tolerated, provided that the lecturer is informed about the absence. Absences of up to eight hours in total may be compensated by either a deduction of grading points or/and extra work agreed with the lecturer. Whether compensation is possible is decided by the lecturer.
Absences of more than eight hours in total cannot be compensated. In this case, or if the lecturer does not allow a student to compensate absences of more than four hours, the course cannot be completed and is graded as a ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfil the attendance requirements on the student’s side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.Important Grading Information
If not explicitly noted otherwise, all requirements mentioned in the grading scheme and the attendance regulations must be met. If a required task is not fulfilled, e.g. a required assignment is not handed in or if the student does not meet the attendance requirements, this will be considered as a discontinuation of the course. In that case, the course will be graded as ‘fail’ (5), unless there is a major and unpredictable reason for not being able to fulfill the task on the student's side (e.g. a longer illness). In such a case, the student may be de-registered from the course without grading. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate this in a timely manner, and to provide relevant evidence to their claims if necessary. Whether this exception applies is decided by the lecturer.
If any requirement of the course has been fulfilled by fraudulent means, be it for example by cheating at an exam, plagiarizing parts of a written assignment or by faking signatures on an attendance sheet, the student's participation in the course will be discontinued, the entire course will be graded as ‘not assessed’ and will be entered into the electronic exam record as ‘fraudulently obtained’. Self-plagiarism, particularly re-using own work handed in for other courses, will be treated likewise.
Examination topics
Reading list
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:39