Global Health Issues

HSCI 309 Global Health Issues

Reaction & Reflection Assignment #1

Relationship of culture to health: Western ethnocentrism and exceptionalism

Our beliefs are very much shaped by the culture and society in which we live and we are often not consciously aware of the extent to which culture shapes our perspectives on almost every aspect of our lives. Effective global health work requires us to be able to develop an ability to critically analyze our own cultural perspectives and be open to learning from others whose cultural perspectives may be radically different from our own.

Assignment purpose:

To introduce students to thought-provoking ideas related to global health that may challenge their current paradigm and ask students to go beyond just reacting to new perspectives, with which they may or may not agree, by engaging more deeply with the ideas in a process of critical analysis and self-reflection.

Assignment process:

1) Complete the following readings that are available in D2L:

“The White Savior Industrial Complex”

“The Third World is Not Your Classroom”

“How NOT to save the world: Why U.S. students who go to poor countries to ‘do good’ often do the opposite”

“Volunteering Abroad? Read This Before You Post That Selfie”

“Barbie challenges the ‘white savior complex’ ”

“The reductive seduction of other people’s problems”

2) After completing all of the readings, students will answer each of the questions using the Reaction and Reflection #1 questions template. The template is a Word document set up so students can type their answers in and then upload that document to the dropbox.

3) Reaction portion of the question: After completing the readings students will quickly write their immediate reactions to the ideas presented in the articles. **There are no “right” or “wrong” answers here. The point is for students to record their immediate, honest reactions to what they are reading*** Student’s reflections will not be “graded” as they are personal, the students receives the points for completing the reaction portion of the assignment.

4) Reflection portion of the question: Students will take some time to think about their immediate reactions and reflect on “where do my beliefs or understandings regarding this issue come from?”

Students will be required to demonstrate evidence of critical analysis as evidenced by the ability to relate their reactions to the assigned readings to Western ethnocentrism and exceptionalism. Students need to respond with a 2-3 paragraph answer to each of the questions.

Questions to consider while you are reflecting on the ideas presented in the articles:

Why might these authors have perspectives on global health work done by Westerners that might feel upsetting to some students?

If you agree with these perspectives, is there something about your personal life experiences that led you to that particular understanding of the subject? Perhaps you have lived or worked in an impoverished country? Perhaps you have an educational background in the social sciences or humanities where you have engaged in deep critical reflection on issues of ethnocentrism and Western exceptionalism?

5) The assignment template will be uploaded to the course dropbox in D2L by the due date indicated on the course schedule.

Developed by Dr. Ruth Staus, 2019