Scholars in the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies (STS) examine knowledge production, scientific practices, and therapeutics in social and cultural context. At UCSC, STS scholars analyze the symbolic dimensions and representational practices of global and community health; …
Women’s Health
Gender inequities in health prevail in most countries throughout the world, despite ongoing attempts to eliminate them. Across the globe, prospects for good health among women are limited by social norms, practices, and policies that are rooted in gender discrimination and bias. The 1985 United …
Anthropocene
Adapted in a wide range of disciplinary contexts to describe an era in which humanity has profoundly transformed earth systems, the Anthropocene has also been used to come to terms with how the resulting changes to earth’s climate, ecologies and biologies are affecting global and local contexts for …
Racial Justice
Recent years have highlighted the perennial challenge of achieving racial justice in US society and more globally. Racial justice seeks to effect institutional change in providing equality of access, opportunities, and outcomes irrespective of phenotypical classifications and categories. These …
Stigma
Stigma, comprising negative attitudes or beliefs ascribed to certain attributes and characteristics, is also closely associated with discrimination in ways that commonly undermine health in stigmatized people. Stigma and discrimination have impacts across the health care continuum, impeding access …
Environmental Health
Environmental health refers to the area of public health that aims to identify environmental hazards and examine how they are shaped by physical, chemical, biological, social, and structural factors. These hazards can be evaluated at the global scale (e.g., climate change) as well as from regional …
Community Gardens
Community gardens are communal spaces where gardeners cultivate flowers, fruits, medicinal plants, and vegetables. They vary in size, location and types of community tenure. The central motivation of many gardeners is often food production, but community gardens contribute to other diverse goals …
