About this course
This course is an opportunity to be directly involved with an ongoing, multidisciplinary research project (funded by the Trans-Atlantic Partnership) examining community-based actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened existing social, health and nutritional inequities and highlighted common challenges facing marginalized and racialized communities in cities across the Global North and South. It has also driven new social innovations and cross-sector collaborations, some of which may have the potential to transform the longstanding inequities that undermine global health, food systems and governance processes.
Through this course, you will learn from the Toronto team of researchers from Urban Studies, Public Health and International Development Studies as well as our community partners. You will gain training in qualitative case study and community-based research methodologies, and you will contribute to the research through the development of a case study using the methods taught in the course. We hope to provide the opportunity for some students to present their course projects to the international research team after the course concludes.
What you’ll learn
- Case study research methodologies and their application to examining community issues and examples of mutual care
- The principles, actions, outcomes and challenges related to community groups and their struggle for food and health justice
- Community-level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their collective impact
Course highlights
This course is open to 4th year undergraduate students from any discipline or department at U of T. The course is designed as an experiential and participatory learning experience delivered through course readings, group work and hands-on projects. This is an opportunity for students to contribute to an active faculty research project working to better understand and support community-based food and health justice initiatives in Toronto.
A personal note from your instructor
Neil Price
I am excited to teach URB438H1S, as it provides an opportunity for me to think about and share my ongoing research related to community organizations’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to examining case studies with students who are interested in community-level organizing, social justice and community development. The course invites students to learn from a Toronto team of researchers from Urban Studies, Public Health and International Development Studies as well as our community partners. You will gain training in qualitative case study and community-based research methodologies, and you will contribute to the research through the development of a case study using the methods taught in the course.