| CODE | GEO2012 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Geographies of Health and Wellbeing | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geography | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The overarching theme of this study-unit is that places where individuals live, work, relax and interact are inextricably interwoven with health and wellbeing in profound ways. The concept of space and place is central to any understanding of modern communities and how they operate. The study-unit will focus on how certain spaces and places, due to their material and social environment, provide individuals with a sense of identity and self-worth. Others, due to their therapeutic nature, provide a symbolic experience relating to features of biophilia, topophilia and place attachment which are deemed as highly important for mental health and wellbeing. This study-unit will also highlight that some spaces and places can be perceived as ‘unhealthy’ due to different forms of pollution, degradation of the material, built-up and natural environment together with aspects of social incivility that create social fragmentation, social exclusion, displacement and stigma. These places are also connected to aspects of inequalities and relative poverty at community level. These are known to cause mental stress and other psychosocial aspects. Conversely this course will also look at how specific social relations in different place settings (urban, rural, traditional and modern) are beneficial for mental health and wellbeing as the community environment within such places generates processes of social capital, social efficacy, social networks and social support. Therefore the context and composition of certain neighbourhood environments can be considered as a lever in protecting and improving health and wellbeing. Furthermore, through fieldwork studies and through diverse methodologies this course aims to enable students to critically analyse how diverse places and spaces due to their interpretation, design, experience and representation are impacting and influencing people’s health and wellbeing according to their age, gender, ethnicity. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims: - to provide students with a variety of theoretical perspectives, methodologies and techniques for the understanding of the connection and interrelationship between spaces, places, community development, health and wellbeing; - to enable students explore a variety of perspectives regarding the functions of space in community building and social integration by focusing on the diversity of villages/cities and the sense of community in neighbourhoods, suburbs and rural areas; - to develop specialised knowledge and critical understanding of the complex forces related to social, environmental, economic, political and cultural aspects that foster/ constrain people’s health and wellbeing within specific places and spaces. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain why people’s health and wellbeing varies across different places and spaces; - Discuss the interplay between built-up and natural spaces and places, social processes and people’s health and wellbeing; - Critically evaluate and apply appropriate theoretical frameworks to community research and practice in relation to a range of determinants of health and wellbeing; - Demonstrate a thorough critical understanding of how sustainable policies and measures directly and indirectly promote people’s health and wellbeing in relation to the built-up and natural environments in cities. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically analyse how diverse aspects within places and spaces influence and impact on health and wellbeing; - Explore the potential of community active-agency and identify and assess place-based interventions for improving health and wellbeing as well as minimising inequalities; - Evaluate the impact on children, adults and elderlies’ health and wellbeing due to inequalities on the type of interventions made to the built and natural environments. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Brown, T., Andrews, G.J., Cummins, S., Greenhough, B., Lewis, D., Power, A. (2017). Health Geographies: A Critical Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell - Crooks, V. A., Andrews, G., Pearce, H. (2018). Routledge Handbook of Health Geography. Routledge. - Barton, H., Thompson, S., Burgess, S., Grant, M. (2015). The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being Shaping a sustainable and healthy future. Routledge - Satariano, B. (2019). Blue therapeutic spaces on islands: Coastal landscapes and their impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Malta Island Studies Journal, 14(2) pp.245-260. - Satariano, B., Curtis, S.E. (2018) The experience of social determinants of health within a Southern European Maltese culture, Health and Place, 51, pp.45-51. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Fieldwork | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Bernadine Satariano |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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