Bambadjan Bamba

This interdisciplinary course explores how storytelling, faith traditions, and public health intersect in shaping immigrant experiences and health outcomes. Drawing from sociology, public health frameworks, performance studies, and theological ethics, students will examine how narratives influence policy, stigma, belonging, and access to care. Particular attention will be given to the role of faith communities in shaping public discourse on immigration, providing health access, and responding to trauma. The course engages religious teachings on human dignity, hospitality, justice, and the moral imagination as frameworks for public health advocacy. Students will analyze dominant cultural narratives about immigrants, explore how faith-based institutions respond to health inequities, and develop ethical, trauma-informed storytelling practices rooted in both social science and spiritual responsibility. By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1. Analyze immigration as both a structural and moral public health issue. 2. Evaluate how faith traditions shape narratives about migration, belonging, and care. 3. Identify the role of stigma, fear, and policy in immigrant health disparities. 4. Apply trauma-informed and ethically grounded storytelling practices. 5. Design a faith-informed public health advocacy or community intervention initiative.