Handbook

Although health and well-being research may appear dominated by biomedical disciplines, the humanities and social sciences extend our understanding of how these normative concepts are viewed, expressed and promoted in a variety of social contexts and communities. Drawing on the insights of faculty researchers who employ a range of innovative social and critical approaches to health and well-being research, we will consider the intersections and tensions between established and emerging theoretical and methodological traditions. Looking across a range of health issues critical to governments and communities today, our understandings of what counts as research data will be expanded beyond the foundational methods of interviewing and observation to encompass digital data, policy and legal texts, social media interactions, as well as participatory and arts-based methods. By the end of the course you will be better equipped to explain the value of and build a rationale for incorporating social approaches into research on health and well-being.