Climate Change, Migration, and Health – GEOG 446A 104 /GEOG 545 101



Curious to learn how climate change, migration and health issues are interrelated? Climate Change, Migration and Health, taught by Dr. Jemima Baada, examines how global and planetary health are influenced by climate change and migration and vice versa. This course is open to all UBC upper-level undergraduate students as well as graduate students.

The ongoing climate crisis affects every facet of planetary life, and human and non-human animal population im/mobilities are major responses to climate change. Climate change, migration and health are interdependent processes embedded within globalisation (i.e., the increased connectivity and movement of people, ideas, goods, services, etc.). This implies that climate change, migration and health issues are not confined to specific populations or geographical regions.  

This course examines planetary, global and public health as shaped by climate change and migration, and how planetary and global health in turn shape climate change and migration issues. Students will be introduced to the historical overview of these three issues. The course will also delve into the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings (e.g., power dynamics, politics, economics, knowledge production) of climate change, migration and health. Different case studies will be used to understand how these processes play out in everyday lives. 

 “Beyond co-learning and co-creating knowledge, this course will explore linkages between theory, policy and practice around climate change, migration and health. Attention will be paid to understanding the differentiated and intersecting vulnerabilities arising from the interconnectedness of climate change, human and non-human im/mobilities, and health,” explains instructor Jemima Baada. 

Term 1 | Wednesday | 11:00am – 2:00pm 

Course registration links are coming soon with the transition to Workday Student. Check back here for more details after May 21st. 

Dr. Jemima Baada (she/her) is an interdisciplinary climate-migration scholar exploring the intersections of gender, climate change, migration, health and development equity. 

Her teaching focuses on how gendered structures, geopolitical and sociocultural relations, climate change and ongoing development practices affect the lives of marginalised groups in diverse rural and urban contexts, and how to create inclusive opportunities for these groups.  

Beyond academia, Dr. Baada has worked with various non-academic institutions such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development agencies.  

“My research and teaching interests are informed by my broader personal and professional goals of ensuring that theory, policy and practice respond equitably to the needs of women, migrants, climate-affected and other marginalised groups,” says Baada. 

Header image credit: Photo by Sébastien Goldberg on Unsplash