Epidemics of Injustice
This annual course, with lectures free and open to the public, prepares public health leaders and community members with the tools to bring about social change and address structural determinants of health. All course meetings will take place virtually, convening each Thursday during the spring semester (excluding spring break) from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Central time, beginning January 13, 2022.
Epidemics of Injustice is sponsored by the Collaboratory for Health Justice at the UIC School of Public Health.
How to participate Heading link
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UIC students
UIC students can enroll through the course catalogue in IPHS 430: Epidemics of Injustice using CRN: 44551.
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Community members
Register for all sessions moving forward.
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Video archive
Missed a class? Watch the full videos of each 2022 course (and our 2021 course archive).
Spring 2022 course meetings Heading link
Spring 2022 course meetings, continued. Heading link
Course leaders Heading link
Zoë Harris is a PhD in Community Health Sciences student at the School of Public Health. Her work has focused on qualitative research projects covering topics such as suicide prevention, social determinants of health, and racism and health. Zoë’s current research interest is indigenous wellness systems and ways we can use them to reduce and eliminate health disparities.
Wendy Avila Rodriguez is a program evaluator and a PhD in Maternal and Child Health student at the UIC School of Public Health. Wendy’s areas of interest include child and adolescent mental health, global health, racism and health and substance use disorders. Through her expertise in qualitative and community-based research methods, Wendy aims to assist in empowering individuals and communities to create effective and sustainable change.
Course Contact Heading link
Collaboratory for Health Justice
sphcollaboratory@uic.edu
Video archive Heading link
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Course videos
January 14 lecture
Our first course meeting focuses on “A Historical Overview of Health Inequities and Structural Racism.” Featuring Dr. Linda Rae Murray, MPH ’80, former president of the American Public Health Association.
January 21 action lab
This week’s action lab focuses on facilitated discussions and consensus building, led by Anna Yankelev, MPH ’19, strategic planning analyst with the Lake County (IL) Health Department.
January 28 lecture
Our focus this week is “Social Capital, Privilege and Positionality.” Led by Alexis Grant, community engagement fellow at the UIC School of Public Health.
February 4 action lab
Build your expertise in “Organizing 101 and Coalition Building.” Our featured speaker is Benjamin Levenson, deputy director of Justice is Global, which works for an equitable and sustainable global economy.
February 11 lecture
This week’s course focuses on mutual aid, led by the staff of Love Fridge Chicago, a mutual aid group grounded in food, working to place community refrigerators across the city.
February 18 lecture
Join us for an examination of the public health implications of and solutions to evictions. Led by Susanne Soederberg, DPhil, professor of global development studies at Queen’s University in Ontario, and Frank G. Avellone, Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing.
February 25 action lab
Join our panel-led action lab aimed at addressing evictions and modeling housing advocacy in public health practice. Panelists include Jon Wilson, community organizer, Dixon Romeo, Tenants Association Organizer and Tyler Zimmer, University of Chicago.
March 4 action lab
Arden Handler, DrPH, director of the UIC Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, leads this week’s action lab on “Advocating to Policy Makers.”
March 11 lecture
Join in as we take a look at putting policy into action, led by staff from the Chicago Food Action Policy Council, which works for policies that advance food justice and food sovereignty in Chicago and across the region.
Action lab: art as advocacy
How can art be used for advocacy? Join an action lab led by Carrie Sandahl, PhD, director of UIC’s Program on Disability Art, Culture and Humanities.
Action lab: using public health data
Learn how to use public health data in an action lab led by Michael Cailas, PhD, an expert in public health geographic information systems at the UIC School of Public Health.
Panel discussion: environmental justice
Join experts from across Chicago advocating for environmental health justice in our neighborhoods and communities for a panel discussion.
Structural racism and the disability movement
This week we take on “Fighting Structural Racism: The Disability Movement.” Led by Washieka Torres, a disability rights scholar, activist, and documentarian at the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences.
Social change in practice
Our course series concludes with a focus on social change in practice with Camara Jones, MD, a family physician and epidemiologist whose work focuses on naming, measuring, and addressing the impacts of racism on the health and well-being of the nation.