| Unit name | Health Inequalities, Law, and Society |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0130 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. John Coggon |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
Not applicable |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Avoidable, systematic health inequalities are a defining feature of our society, and a crucial source of social injustice. Unequal health outcomes and opportunities track differences in socio-economic position, and they are found across groups defined by reference to characteristics such as age, disability, gender, nationality, race, and sexuality. Social institutions, norms, practices, and structures all influence our health; for better and worse, more and less fairly, and in ways that are beyond the control of any individual. Amongst these, law is a crucial factor: with the scope both to create, compound, and sustain health injustices, and to provide pathways to a better, fairer society. This unit challenges you to scrutinise the intersections between health, social justice, policy, and law. It examines the power and influence of law; the harms and inequities that it creates, its practical limitations, and also the good that it can do.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Two ideas in particular pervade the unit. First, through a more political lens, the unit examines how different perspectives lend different views on how health inequalities should be understood, and on what constitute appropriate measures to address them. Secondly, through a more societal lens, the unit examines how different modes of social engagement can influence health law and governance. For students on the Health, Law, and Society LLM, this is a mandatory unit. For students on other programmes, it provides the opportunity to learn about questions concerning health, law, and social justice.
An overview of content
The unit provides a broad, socially-embedded approach to the study of questions in health law. It examines these with reference to philosophical, political, and regulatory perspectives. It begins with observations from social epidemiology concerning the links between social position and health opportunities and outcomes. And it critically engages questions of social justice and health, examining the place of law and laws within these. This includes both the (potential) impact of laws, for better and for worse, and the use of law as a tool to achieve better, fairer health outcomes. We see how laws can marginalise people and create health injustice, and how it can empower and create conditions for better health justice.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit will advance your substantive and critical knowledge and understanding of law. Importantly, it will do so in a way that expands how you think about the influence of existing laws (or their absence), how you envisage the limits of law, and how you see law as a tool to effect (or hamper) change. Its focus on health inequalities means you will hear and learn from diverse, critical perspectives.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
Your learning on the unit is achieved through mixed methods of teaching and learning, incorporated in lectures, guided independent reading and exercises, and seminars. The unit aims to enable you to attain, synthesise, and critically engage with ranging materials and ideas. As such, you will receive clear framing and guidance in lectures and teaching materials. This will enable you to undertake your own independent reading and study. And your learning will be secured through preparation for, and participation in, fortnightly seminars where you will: discuss and debate critical questions; check and advance your understanding; engage in tasks that promote breadth and depth of understanding.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative task (formative):
The unit offers ranging tasks, consolidated in fortnightly seminars, to advance both your substantive knowledge and understanding and your critical reasoning skills. In addition, there is a 1,500-word formative essay assignment, to be submitted approximately half way through the unit. This does not contribute to your final grade. Rather, it enables you to practise and apply the skills required for the summative task. You will receive individual feedback on your essay, as well as broader general feedback and essay preparation and writing guidance.
Task which counts towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit is assessed by a single, 4,000-word essay. This is a critical, discursive essay, responding to a set question based on the content of the unit. It will allow you to demonstrate your attainment of all the unit’s intended learning outcomes.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0130).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
