Health and Human Development

Description

This thematically-based program explores the intersection of human development, health and society. Each quarter examines this relationship through content-related themes and experiences to better understand the fundamentals of health and human development. This program is designed between Evening and Weekend Studies and full-time offerings. The core of the program meets as a whole community using an evening/weekend format. Twelve credit students may register (with faculty signature) to complete an in-program internship.  Full time students will meet additional hours during the week.

Our learning community will grapple with the age-old questions regarding the nature/nurture controversy. We will use the themes of our program to engage questions like: “How do we navigate our way through the world to build a healthy sense of self? What myths and beliefs guide our decision-making regarding health? What barriers prevent us from achieving a more wholesome lifestyle? How can we acquire the skills necessary to successfully be and create a health-based community? Along with these questions we will study the particulars of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, the ability/disability spectrum and religious affiliation/identity as predictors of achieving health and well-being. We'll also examine these characteristics in terms of their social construction and the creation of a multicultural, democratic society.

Each quarter focuses on human development and the psychological, biological and social constructs that guide the stages of development. Fall quarter begins with adolescent and young adult development, the social and genetic construction of identity, the question of what makes for a healthy stage of development and the barriers to achieving optimal states of health and well being. Winter quarter deepens our study of developmental theory through the study of birth, early and late childhood developmental themes, and community-based health and social services. During spring quarter we’ll turn our attention to later adulthood and aging and the health-based concerns that arise. The program will progress from a faculty-directed course of study toward a more student-originated design.

Students completing this program will come to a stronger understanding of their personal lives as situated in a variety of contexts. They will develop strategies for engaging in a range of settings to promote social change, in-depth personal development, increased self-awareness, critical commentary and analyses, and practices that promote health and well-being. They will learn basic tools and strategies for analysis of community health needs. They will come to understand themselves as a member of multiple communities and as having a responsibility to these communities.