
Gender, Health, & Human Rights: More Than a Woman’s Issue
This Praxis Lab explored the complex and evolving relationships between gender, health, and human rights. Students examined critical questions about how health is defined, how human rights influence well-being, and how gender and heterosexism shape our understanding of these issues. They analyzed the role of global institutions, such as national governments and the World Health Organization, in addressing these challenges.
In the second semester, students turned their focus to local issues, identifying key challenges in their own community that reflect the broader global conversation. They applied their research and insights to develop a meaningful project aimed at creating real change. Their final report highlights their findings and recommendations for improving gender and health equity at the local level.
Instructors:
Claudia Geist, PhD
Megan Reynolds, PhD
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Infectious Disease on the Run
Margaret P. Battin, PhD
Wendy Hobson-Rohrer, MD
This Praxis Lab examined the history, science, and ethical implications of pandemics, from the Black Plague to COVID-19. Students analyzed how diseases spread, the social and political responses to outbreaks, and the ethical considerations of public health interventions.

How We Die
Margaret P. Battin, PhD
This Praxis Lab explored the evolving landscape of death and dying in the modern world, examining the shift from infectious disease mortality to prolonged battles with degenerative illnesses like cancer, heart failure, and dementia.

Education, Incarceration & Justice: Punishment and Opportunity in an Era of Mass Imprisonment
Erin Castro
Roberto Garcia
This Praxis Lab examined the deep connections between education, incarceration, and justice in the United States, a country with the highest incarceration rate in the world. Students explored the historical and systemic forces that have expanded the carceral state, disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color.