Health and a Good Life

Catalog description

Living a “good life” is held up as a common goal and is even a eulogy staple at funerals. But what does it mean? This course attempts to answer that question through the perspective of health over the life course. The objective of this course is to introduce students to the life course perspective as it relates to health in the U.S. and comparatively. Using the life course perspective, this course explores the importance of social structures and institutions, life stages, and life experiences to understand how human lives and health are embedded within and shaped by their contexts. By the end of the course, students will be able to recognize and identify the factors that put a “good life” within easier reach of some people than others.