A sociologist, a cardiovascular physiologist, and an immunologist walk into a bar…
Sorry, I can’t come up with a punchline. But I do have a story to tell about when sociologists talk to people in vastly different disciplines to better understand important social issues. I work in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University. This department is essentially a microcosm of the university. I interact daily with people across disciplines ranging from humanities to physiology to bench science.
Let’s not try to outsmart AI: A Sociologist’s reflection on teaching and learning in the GenAI Era.
In early January, when most people were still finalizing their New Year resolutions, I sat in front of my computer preparing to teach Gender, Sex, and Health. While the two years during which I did not teach this course might seem like a short pause, for me they marked a shift in the pedagogical era, a shift shaped by the rapid proliferation of generative AI.
Handwashing and the inequities of responsibility in public health
Research inspiration comes at the strangest times. I first got interested in handwashing in a restaurant powder room in 2012. There, above the sink, was a laminated poster by Ottawa Health featuring illustrations and instructions about handwashing (which apparently had six stages), under the headline, “Ottawa’s health is in your hands.” Since when, I thought, did adults need to be told how to wash their hands?