Health, Risk, and Contagion

Catalog description

In this class we will explore the social forces that shape epidemic and crisis. This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of illness and disease, organized around the concept of 'Contagion.' Drawing from the disciplines of medical anthropology, sociology, science and technology studies, public health and epidemiology, this course will explore how our scientific and popular understandings of 'contagion' shape our assessment of health risk and social organization. Themes of this course will include: an introduction to public health models of infectious disease, basic principles of modern epidemiology, histories of infection control, and the relationship between contagion narratives, social attitudes, anxieties, inequality, and public policy. These themes will be explored through the lens of different public health crises, such as COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, climate change, and emerging ideas of 'social contagion'. Through this class students will gain a foundation in social and scientific concepts related to contagion and will use this knowledge to critically evaluate popular media discourse surrounding infectious disease epidemics. This seminar course will involve student presentations and a final paper.