What began as the brainchild of three women now is the first class at the University devoted specifically to women's health.
The course, "Women's Health: A Global Perspective," GNUR/SWAG 510, was offered for the first time this semester.
The class's three instructors come from different backgrounds: College graduate student Julia Ahmed previously had founded women's health clinics in Bangladesh, Education graduate student Breyette Lorntz has worked in global health and Nursing Prof. Doris Glick offers experiences in nursing.
According to Glick, some of the course's success stemmed from the instructors' diverse backgrounds.
"The three of us made a good interdisciplinary team," she said. The class is "the first of its kind."
The approximately 15 students enrolled in the class also came from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from College students to medical students and nursing students, as well as one visiting student from Brazil.
Fourth-year College student Vivek Jain, one of two males in the class, said the course enlightened him to some stark discrepancies in women's health issues.
"A lot of times, women's health is just taken from men's data and extrapolated," Jain said, adding that this data "doesn't take into consideration different life cycles."
Jain said the course also gave him a new perspective on domestic social structures.
"If we're really going to exist in social structures like families, we have to examine the complexities and barriers which exist for women," he said.
He added that he did not feel awkward being in the small minority of males, mentioning that he was "often the recipient of a good-natured jibe."
Another student in the class, fourth-year College student Kate Neuhausen, said the course also studied women's health from an international perspective.
"There was a real focus on health in developing countries," Neuhausen said. "Women's health is a completely different issue in those countries."
The goal of the class, Glick said, was to examine women's health from a global and human rights perspective, Neuhausen added involved anthropological, biomedical and feminist viewpoints.
In addition to the coursework, students also organized the Women's Health Fest, set for Feb. 10 and aiming to bring together a variety of groups related to the issue.
The festival is "a way to extend the course outside the classroom," Neuhausen said, adding that 100 people volunteered to help the first week the event was advertised.
"The goal [of the festival] is to empower those planners to be creative," she said.
Despite overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews from many of the class's students, as of now, it will not be offered next semester. Glick, however, said she would be more than willing to teach it again.
"I would be delighted to do that if there was the support," she said.
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