This course surveys medical geography, a subdiscipline which encompasses a broad range of geographical work on health and health care. Medical geography is based on the premise that ‘place matters’ when we consider the health of individuals and communities, and uses the tools of the geographer to understand variations in health status and healthcare. The course explores three groups of theoretical approaches within geography: ecological approaches, which systematically analyze relationships between people and their environments; social approaches, including political economy and recent humanist approaches; and spatial approaches, which employ maps and spatial statistics to identify patterns among variables. Students in the course are encouraged throughout to consider how these theoretical approaches can complement one another, as well as their inherent tensions. Two sub-themes—environment and international perspectives—are emphasized throughout the course.