700.644.01
Justice Theory and Health

Discontinued

Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Berman Institute (Bioethics)
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Class Time(s)
Wednesday, 3:30 - 6:20pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Ruth Faden
Contact Name
Ruth Faden
Contact Email
rfaden@jhsph.edu
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite

none

Description
Why do you think health matters? Are all inequalities in health equally important? Are you interested in learning more about the philosophical literature on justice and human rights? Engage with moral and political thought about what structural justice and human rights entail and why they matter to public health. Many of us are attracted to public health because of a desire to make the world not only a better place, but also a more just one. But what does that mean?
Explores how to make the world a better and more just place from the standpoint of human rights and justice theory. Includes topics such as the distinctive role of justice and structural justice in moral thought, theoretical foundations for human rights, the relationship between human rights and justice, and the related concepts of fairness, power and disadvantage.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Evaluate why health matters morally according to alternative theories of justice
  2. Identify the philosophical foundations of the human right to health
  3. Explain what is distinctive about justice theories in general, and structural theories in particular
  4. Identify the relationship between justice, fairness, power and disadvantage and its implications for public health
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 50% Discussion
  • 50% Final Paper
Enrollment Restriction
Priority enrollment given to MBE students.
Instructor Consent
Consent required for some students
Consent Note
All students NOT enrolled in MBE degree program require instructor consent
Consent Contact
rfaden@jhsph.edu
Jointly Offered With
Health Policy and Management
Special Comments

Taught synchronously, in an online seminar format. After an initial plenary session, the class is divided into two breakout groups of no more than ten students each. Students in each group meets for one hour without the instructor and one hour with. During the hour without the instructor, students work-shop paper ideas, and discuss specific questions that are circulated in advance of class.