International relations

Disease, Diplomacy and Development

Module code: 004RA
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Coursework, Essay

The 21st century confronts a wide range of pressing global health challenges, from threatening pandemics like COVID-19, and endemic diseases that undermine development goals, through to increasingly risky forms of scientific research.

• Which are the major contemporary health challenges for sustainable development and international security?
• How are those intersecting health challenges governed at global level?
• What international political dynamics are shaping peoples’ health around the world?

This module provides students with an in-depth understanding of the major global health challenges, as well as the international power dynamics shaping this field as it enters a post-COVID, post-global, and post-colonial era.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and critical understanding of the relationship between health, development and security, especially in the international sphere.
• Critically apply key concepts, such as ‘global’, ‘governance’, ‘security’, and ‘power’, to an inquiry of health and disease
• Demonstrate skills in group presentational and analytical work
• Present clear, analytical and robust analyses and arguments in both written and oral form