HAD6512H

Prerequisite

n/a

Objectives

At the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Identify and elaborate on the concepts and methods of discourse analysis in relationship to healthcare education and research
2. Have familiarity with the essential arguments and importance of some of Foucault’s major works: History of Madness, Birth of the Clinic, History of Sexuality, etc.
3. Understand how Foucault’s work fits with the intellectual traditions of post-modernism, constructivism, critical theory, and other major 20^th century theoretical perspectives
4. Gain an introductory familiarity with critiques of Foucault’s works and theories including feminist and other late 20^th and early 21^st century critical theorists

Description

Michel Foucault’s work is important for the health professions in many ways. Foucauldian discourse analysis is a particularly useful method for scholars to study the ways in which discourses systematically construct the social world. A Foucauldian approach makes visible dominant ‘regimes of truth’ that arise from normalized and sanctioned ways of thinking, speaking, and being. Foucault’s own genealogical histories explored clinical medicine, ethics, the body, sexuality, madness, identity, and many other topics that are pivotal to health professional education. In the course we will explore Foucault’s concept of discourse, examine Foucault’s own discourse analyses/genealogical studies, read critiques of his approach written by scholars with various perspectives, meet researchers currently working with a Foucauldian approach, and learn to use discourse analysis as a research method.

Instructors

Evaluation Breakdown

Competencies