Seminar Description
Our world is constantly faced with health-related threat and challenges which can have widespread impact in the society and demand political and financial attention to solve the problems. In this seminar, we will explore the notion of health security and attempt to answer the underlying question of “security from what and security for whom”. We will unpack health security issues such as biosafety and biosecurity, emerging and resurgent diseases as well as Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), conflict and health, pandemic prevention/ preparedness/ response, health security and human-animal environmental interface, and global health security/ multisectoral partnership to address health security issues.

Prüfungsleistung: Referat oder Hausarbeit

In this seminar, we will explore how socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors
contribute to hazards and disasters in different societies. We will begin by clarifying terms
related to disasters, such as preparedness, vulnerability, resilience, mitigation, etc., and
examine various risk theories. Of particular interest is examining the conditions under which
factors of social inequality, such as cultural affiliation, ethnicity, socio-economic status,
gender, as well as environmental factors, result in unequal risks for different population
groups. Among other factors, we will also address climate change as a key driver of increasing disaster risks and health impacts. Using examples of specific natural disasters from both the Global North and South, students will analyze the health impacts of disasters and explore preventive approaches. The seminar is designed to be interactive, incorporating English-language texts and video excerpts. The language of instruction is English, but the assessment can also be conducted in German, and you are welcome to speak German during the seminar.

Prüfungsleistung: Referat oder Hausarbeit

In diesem Seminar betrachten wir Infektionen aus verschiedenen Sichtweisen, von einem kurzen Exkurs in die Immunologie, über Governance von Impfstoffen bis zu sozio-kulturellen Aspekten: Wie definieren wir ein Risiko und reagieren darauf? Was bedeutet eigentlich ein Virus individuell und gesellschaftlich über seine Biologie hinaus? Und was macht es mit uns, infiziert zu sein? Das Seminar kombiniert Texte und Methoden aus Public Health und Medizinethnologie im globalen Kontext.

Prüfungsleistung: Referat oder Hausarbeit

In seinen Memoiren über das Erdbeben in Haiti in 2010, The World is Moving Around Me, schrieb Dany Laferrière in Bezug auf die literarische Verarbeitung:
„Are writers already at work? Will we see a race to write the great earthquake novel or the major essay about reconstruction? And the winner—will it be a Frankétienne or a young, unknown woman novelist? Dalembert or a German writer who’d never even heard of Haiti before the event? Don’t forget that the great novel of the Haitian dictatorship (The Comedians, 1996) was written by Graham Greene, an Englishman. The earthquake is aplanetary event. It belongs to everyone. (139-140)“

Wie werden Katastrophen kulturell verarbeitet, und wem „gehört“ diese literarische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Extremereignis? In diesem Seminar lesen wir uns ein in ausgewählte Katastrophen der Geschichte mit einem Fokus auf Asien. Nach einer Einführung in „was ist eine Katastrophe“ sowie in Risikotheorien, schauen wir uns die Kontexte weniger ausgewählter Ereignisse an:
- Der Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 in Sri Lanka
- Das Erdbeben von 2010 in Haiti
- Das Industriedesaster von Bhopal in Indien sowie
- Die Dreifachkatastrophe von Fukushima in Japan
und lesen hierzu jeweils 1 Buch und ggf. weitere, kürzere Texte, anhand deren wir uns die künstlerische Verarbeitung der Katastrophe genauer ansehen.

Die Unterrichtssprache in diesem Seminar ist deutsch, und mehrere Werke stehen auf Deutsch zur Verfügung. Da jedoch nur wenige Originalstimmen aus Südasien und Haiti übersetzt werden, stehen auch einige englischsprachige Bücher auf dem Plan. Sie können sich selbst aussuchen, welche Bücher Sie lesen – ich gehe davon aus, dass wir so eine Gruppe der ExpertInnen für die deutschsprachigen und eine Gruppe ExpertInnen für die englischen Texte im Seminar haben und gut diskutieren können.

Zu lesende Bücher (verfügbar zeitnah in der SuUB oder später als PDF bei StudIP):
Ashok Ferry: Love in the Tsunami
Sonali Deraniyagala: Nach der Welle
Myriam JA Chancy: What storm, what thunder
Indra Sinha: Menschentier
Yoko Tawada: Sendbo-o-te

Sie sollten hiervon mind. 1 Werk selbst komplett lesen; wir besprechen die Aufteilung noch im ersten Seminar.

In seinen Memoiren über das Erdbeben in Haiti in 2010, The World is Moving Around Me, schrieb Dany Laferrière in Bezug auf die literarische Verarbeitung:
„Are writers already at work? Will we see a race to write the great earthquake novel or the major essay about reconstruction? And the winner—will it be a Frankétienne or a young, unknown woman novelist? Dalembert or a German writer who’d never even heard of Haiti before the event? Don’t forget that the great novel of the Haitian dictatorship (The Comedians, 1996) was written by Graham Greene, an Englishman. The earthquake is aplanetary event. It belongs to everyone. (139-140)“

Wie werden Katastrophen kulturell verarbeitet, und wem „gehört“ diese literarische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Extremereignis? In diesem Seminar lesen wir uns ein in ausgewählte Katastrophen der Geschichte mit einem Fokus auf Asien. Nach einer Einführung in „was ist eine Katastrophe“ sowie in Risikotheorien, schauen wir uns die Kontexte weniger ausgewählter Ereignisse an:
- Der Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 in Sri Lanka
- Das Erdbeben von 2010 in Haiti
- Das Industriedesaster von Bhopal in Indien sowie
- Die Dreifachkatastrophe von Fukushima in Japan
und lesen hierzu jeweils 1 Buch und ggf. weitere, kürzere Texte, anhand deren wir uns die künstlerische Verarbeitung der Katastrophe genauer ansehen.

Die Unterrichtssprache in diesem Seminar ist deutsch, und mehrere Werke stehen auf Deutsch zur Verfügung. Da jedoch nur wenige Originalstimmen aus Südasien und Haiti übersetzt werden, stehen auch einige englischsprachige Bücher auf dem Plan. Sie können sich selbst aussuchen, welche Bücher Sie lesen – ich gehe davon aus, dass wir so eine Gruppe der ExpertInnen für die deutschsprachigen und eine Gruppe ExpertInnen für die englischen Texte im Seminar haben und gut diskutieren können.

Zu lesende Bücher (verfügbar zeitnah in der SuUB oder später als PDF bei StudIP):
Ashok Ferry: Love in the Tsunami
Sonali Deraniyagala: Nach der Welle
Myriam JA Chancy: What storm, what thunder
Indra Sinha: Menschentier
Yoko Tawada: Sendbo-o-te

Sie sollten hiervon mind. 1 Werk selbst komplett lesen; wir besprechen die Aufteilung noch im ersten Seminar.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), almost 1 in 8 of the world's population, or over 1 billion people, are active migrants. Two hundred and eighty-four million of these are internally displaced, 261,6 million are refugees, and 434 million are asylum seekers. Of these, 281 million are international migrants, and 35 million are children. Due to factors like poverty, insecurity, conflict, disasters, and environmental degradation, it is anticipated that the number of people living in transit will increase in the future.
Migration experiences are a major factor in determining health and well-being. In addition to physical and mental health issues which are common, refugees and migrants continue to be among the most vulnerable members of society, subject to discrimination, xenophobia, unfavorable living and working conditions, and insufficient access to health care. On the other hand, one of the main concerns in migration management is health. Given that everyone has the fundamental human right to health, states are obligated to protect immigrants' health regardless of their immigration status. For migrants to make a meaningful contribution to the societies in which they reside, they must also be in good health. Health risks for migrants may eventually affect the communities that receive them. Therefore, health is a cross-cutting issue that affects border management, labor, integration, and social cohesion, among other aspects of migration management.
In this seminar, we will explore what is meant by "migration health", the factors influencing migrants health, and the international legal frameworks that govern the obligations of nations to protect the health of migrants.

Aims and Requirements of the Seminar
Population ageing across the globe presents both a historic opportunity for humanity and a substantial social policy challenge, raising a wide range of complex questions, including:
1. What does it mean to be elderly today, and how do we collectively imagine the so-called “fourth age”?
2. Who should bear responsibility for caring for older people in society?
3. What role should governments play in responding to care needs associated with frailty and vulnerability in old age?
4. Who should pay for care, and to what extent should it be regulated by the state?
5. What social risks are specific to old age compared to other stages of the life course, and how can families best be supported in caring for older relatives?
6. Do cash-for-care schemes and other forms of support for family caregivers risk reinforcing traditional, gendered care arrangements and thereby disempowering women?
7. Does public investment in long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes) represent the institutionalization and marginalization of older people, or does it constitute a responsible and necessary public policy response?

This seminar addresses these questions through the lens of comparative social policy and welfare state research, with a particular focus on developments in long-term care (LTC) systems worldwide. Long-term care systems are examined as expressions of distinct governmental and societal responses to the social risk associated with care dependency in old age.

The seminar begins by clarifying what long-term care is and how it overlaps with, yet differs from, other areas of social policy—most notably health care, its closest policy counterpart. Particular attention is paid to the demographic transformations driving growing demand for LTC, as well as to the major challenges countries face in meeting both current and future care needs. Given the central role families play in the provision of long-term care, the seminar also examines the specific burdens placed on family caregivers and evaluates policy measures designed to support them.
Building on this conceptual and empirical foundation, the seminar then takes a comparative perspective, exploring long-term care systems across different world regions and at varying stages of development. Our comparative journey begins with Germany, whose long-term care insurance system—introduced in 1994 and continuously evolving since—has served as a reference model for many countries.

In addition to identifying country-specific and regional trends in long-term care, students will have the opportunity to explore key thematic issues through independent case-study research, which they will then present in class or write a Hausarbeit on.

Aims and Requirements of the Seminar
Population ageing across the globe presents both a historic opportunity for humanity and a substantial social policy challenge, raising a wide range of complex questions, including:
1. What does it mean to be elderly today, and how do we collectively imagine the so-called “fourth age”?
2. Who should bear responsibility for caring for older people in society?
3. What role should governments play in responding to care needs associated with frailty and vulnerability in old age?
4. Who should pay for care, and to what extent should it be regulated by the state?
5. What social risks are specific to old age compared to other stages of the life course, and how can families best be supported in caring for older relatives?
6. Do cash-for-care schemes and other forms of support for family caregivers risk reinforcing traditional, gendered care arrangements and thereby disempowering women?
7. Does public investment in long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes) represent the institutionalization and marginalization of older people, or does it constitute a responsible and necessary public policy response?

This seminar addresses these questions through the lens of comparative social policy and welfare state research, with a particular focus on developments in long-term care (LTC) systems worldwide. Long-term care systems are examined as expressions of distinct governmental and societal responses to the social risk associated with care dependency in old age.

The seminar begins by clarifying what long-term care is and how it overlaps with, yet differs from, other areas of social policy—most notably health care, its closest policy counterpart. Particular attention is paid to the demographic transformations driving growing demand for LTC, as well as to the major challenges countries face in meeting both current and future care needs. Given the central role families play in the provision of long-term care, the seminar also examines the specific burdens placed on family caregivers and evaluates policy measures designed to support them.
Building on this conceptual and empirical foundation, the seminar then takes a comparative perspective, exploring long-term care systems across different world regions and at varying stages of development. Our comparative journey begins with Germany, whose long-term care insurance system—introduced in 1994 and continuously evolving since—has served as a reference model for many countries.

In addition to identifying country-specific and regional trends in long-term care, students will have the opportunity to explore key thematic issues through independent case-study research, which they will then present in class or write a Hausarbeit on.