92578 Diversity and Culture
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Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): 96 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C10360 Bachelor of Public Health
Description
"It's a small world, after all", and getting smaller every day! Today's world is an ever-evolving matrix of complex cultural interactions and diverse constructions of identity that include components of race, gender, nationality, sexuality, disability, age, and social status. In this subject, students explore the context of global and local diversity and its direct and indirect impact on health outcomes. The subject analyses both historical approaches to cultural interactions, and contemporary controversies that impact health. While ensuring a safe space for healthy discussion, students are taught to critically engage with their own personal perspectives, biases and prejudices, and those that are expressed more broadly in society as institutional power dynamics. Students gain insight and empathy into diverse ways of thinking and being, and use this knowledge to develop skills to effectively work within and be sensitively and respectfully aware of diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | Investigate key issues associated with identity, culture and diversity in a local and global context |
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| B. | Critically evaluate prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination and their impacts on both the individual and larger cultural groups |
| C. | Be able to discuss role of power, policy, and institutional environments on the public health outcomes for diverse and marginalized groups |
| D. | Examine the components of the Australian multi-cultural experience in order to demonstrate both the difficulties and value inherent in fostering national cultural diversity |
| E. | Develop personal and professional skills of cultural competence and sensitivity in relation to diversity |
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is designed to assist students in understanding the complex interactions of identity and culture and the impacts of this diversity on health literacy, agency, and outcomes. It is anticipated that the knowledge and skills gained in this subject allow graduates to appreciate common challenges associated with healthcare and to develop analytical skills through authentic assessments that reflect industry expectations. Weekly lectures and tutorials will allow the students to learn and collaborate respectively with the tutor and fellow peers through working in pairs or groups on activities such as classroom debates and presentations as well as engage in certain simulation tasks. In addition, students will be expected to engage in weekly preparatory activities (consisting of, but not limited to, online quizzes, surveys and questionnaires) aided by resources provided on Canvas (such as journal articles, news reports, YouTube videos, podcasts), as preparation for the relevant in-class activities. Students will also be encouraged to use this interactive online tool to post and comment on online material, examples and case studies that they themselves are interested in sharing, thereby becoming active agents in crafting their own learning experience and fostering deeper engagement with each other and with the subject matter more broadly.
Content (topics)
Unit 1: Frameworks for Understanding Culture?
Defining Identity and Culture: What is Identity and how is it constructed? How is culture defined in various forums (academic, political, personal)?
- The ‘Multi-cultural Experiment’: History of multi-culturalism including contemporary ideological debates: ‘Us vs Them’, ‘Melting Pots’
- Interactions of Power: Oppression and Agency
- Understanding the history of oppression and resistance
- Understanding Intersectionality
- Diversity in policy: How diversity can operate in local and global legislation, policy and institutions (e.g. UTS; NSW Health; The United Nations Human Rights Charter)
- Discrimination (positive and negative) Vs. Assimilation (positive and negative)
Unit 2: Diversity in Health: Issues and Case Studies
Issues and differences in health outcomes associated with cultural diversity will be explored through a series of case studies that match contemporary issues with a marginalized target population:
- Issues include: Representation and Media; Stigma and prejudice; Comparing concepts of agency and consent; Access to services; Economies of Scale (demographic problems of minority vs. majority power); Belonging and Mental Health; Health Literacy and Education
- Framing components for communities will include: Gender, Race and Ethnicity, Religion, Sexuality, (dis)ability, age, urban vs rural, developing vs developed, socio-economic status, language, and citizenship status.
- Example: “Agency in health: who is in control?- Case Study: Contraception and reproductive health for women in Africa and the Middle East.”
Unit 3: Techniques and Strategies
- Proper processes for engagement with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in health promotion and service delivery
- Strategies for increased representation and power through community capacity building, grassroots activism, and advocacy.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Quizzes
| Intent: | The purpose of this activity is to enhance and assess student understanding of the subject content, while simultaneously giving immediate feedback on their responses to allow for deeper learning. |
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| Weight: | 20% |
Assessment task 2: Participation
| Intent: | Class participation encourages an improved student focus on in-class learning and activity, and is associated with improved student learning. Dialogue between facilitator and student, and conversation and discussion between students assist in the understanding and sharing of information and skills. Class participation, which includes group work as well as preparatory work for students to complete before attending class, works to encourage and support the development of learning communities within the subject. It supports the UTS Model of Learning by shifting towards an active engagement by students and a focus on learning rather than teaching. Online engagement before and after class through UTS Online forums will allow students the ability to take their time to reflect and respond to each other’s ideas, while providing an innovative method that allows for the engagement with other forms of media (videos, images, hyperlinked articles, etc) that are less feasible in a classroom environment. |
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| Weight: | 15% |
Assessment task 3: Comparative Essay
| Intent: | This essay requires students to consider how the social determinants of health that are a direct result of identity and culture directly impact health outcomes and the development of health intervention programs. They will critically engage with the core issues of prejudice, power, representation, access, stigma, and belonging. By making it comparative, it requires students to consider these factors in a diversity of situations, and challenges them to understand how these components of identity can impact health outcomes both at an individual level and for larger cultural units. |
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| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 1,200 words (maximum), excluding reference list |
Assessment task 4: Group Assignment- Community Advocacy Event
| Intent: | This project requires students to participate in a real-world scenario of cultural engagement to use the knowledge learnt over the semester of issues associated with diversity and culture, and the correct tools and protocols of engagement with CALD and other diverse communities. It allows them to think creatively of solutions to a wide array of problems including: who is being underrepresented? How will they be engaged? To what degree is the environment a safe space for cross-cultural interaction? How can improvements be made to ensure a successful and diverse outcome? By allowing them to run this diverse event as a simulated community group themselves, they will be encouraged to think about how to promote and engage with communities that may be different from our own, and to develop these cross-cultural skills in practice. |
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| Weight: | 35% |
| Length: | Presentation: 10 min presentation (30%) Reflection: 500 words (5%) |
Required texts
There is no essential text for this subejct. All necessary readings and material will be posted on Canvas.
References
Refer to Canvas for access to up to date references for this subject.
Other resources
UTS Student Centre
Building 10
Monday to Friday: 9am - 5pm
Tel: 1300 ASK UTS (1300 275 887)
Details for student centres: www.uts.edu.au/current-students/contacts/general-contacts
For other resources/ information refer to the Faculty of Health website (www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-health) and UTSOnline at: https://online.uts.edu.au/webapps/login/
UTS Library
The Library has a wide range of resources, facilities and services to support you including textbooks, subject readings, health literature databases, workshops and bookable study rooms. There is also a team of librarians to help you with your questions available via online chat, phone and in person. W: lib.uts.edu.au, Facebook: utslibrary, Twitter: @utslibrary Tel: (02) 9514 3666.
Improve your academic and English language skills
Marks for all assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations are given not only for what you write but also for how you write. If you would like the opportunity to improve your academic and English language skills, make an appointment with the HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support) Service in Student Services.
HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support)
HELPS provides assistance with English language proficiency and academic language. Students who need to develop their written and/or spoken English should make use of the free services offered by HELPS, including academic language workshops, vacation intensive courses, drop-in consultations, individual appointments and Conversations@UTS (www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps). HELPS staff are also available for drop-in consultations at the UTS Library. Phone (02) 9514 9733.
Please see www.uts.edu.au for additional information on other resources provided to students by UTS.