402010 Decolonizing Global Health: Power, Policy, and Practice (S) (WiSe 2025/2026)

Course Overview: The Decolonizing Global Health: Power, Policy, and Practice block seminar is a four-day intensive course designed to critically explore the intersections of postcolonial theory and global health. It investigates how colonial legacies continue to shape health disparities, global health governance, biopolitics, and feminist critiques of health systems. The module provides students with a theoretical foundation in postcolonial thought and global health, combined with interdisciplinary and practice-oriented learning.
Students will engage with core topics, including colonial medicine, the role of the nation-state and global health actors, the ‘tropical body’ and necropolitics, and critiques of the "Western gaze." The seminar incorporates a blend of interactive lectures, group discussions, case study working in small groups, and input from international experts. The block seminar will be held in presence. No prior knowledge of postcolonialism or public health is required, though preparation through the recommended readings is encouraged.

Participants: The block seminar will be offered to students in the Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health study programmes as an IndiErg programme. It will also be open to interested students from other faculties (e.g. Psychology, Sociology, Medicine). We expect a minimum of 12 students and can support up to 24 students (e.g. two small groups for Studienleistung presentations for each case study, see below).
Structure: Block seminar 4 days, 7 hours per day
Teaching methods: In-person sessions, small group work, and independent study

Learning Goals: Each day includes four hours of interactive teaching, incorporating lectures, discussions, and learning activities. In these sections, participants will:
• Develop a strong theoretical foundation in postcolonial thought and its relevance to global health.
• Critically analyse health policies and interventions through a postcolonial lens.
• Engage with case studies that illustrate neocolonial power dynamics in global health governance.
• Work collaboratively to discuss ethical, political, and historical dimensions of global health.
The course integrates small group working on chosen case studies by international experts as a key component of learning. Over the four days students will choose and develop their knowledge and thinking on their chosen case study, with a final presentation (Studienleistung) to the wider group on the final day as part of learning exchange.

Studien- und Prüfungsleistung
Studienleistung: Group presentation on a selected global health case study (Sierra Leone, India, or Tanzania/Zanzibar). Group presentations should be 30 minutes long and respond to the main topics of the block seminar, based on independent work on the case studies and exchange with experts. Presentations should be accompanied with a Powerpoint summary (〜15 slides) and all members of the group should present. Presentations and final work should be held in English. A system of interactive feedback and Q&A sessions will follow each presentation.
Prüfungsleistung: not applicable to this block seminar.