Spring 2020 - HSCI 408 D100

Plagues, Pollutants and Poverty: The Origins and Evolution of Public Health (3)

Class Number: 2180

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2020: Tue, 8:30–11:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Bruce Lanphear
    bpl3@sfu.ca
    1-360-684-2110
    Office Hours: By appointment
  • Prerequisites:

    90 units, including HSCI 330.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Origins and evolution of public health. Transitions in public and population health, focusing on changing concepts and interventions in public health, such as the sanitarian movement, the rise of bacteriology and vaccines, nutritional deficiencies, chronic diseases, occupational health, maternal and child health, and environmental health.

COURSE DETAILS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is intended to provide students with a broad knowledge of the origins and evolution of public health. We will explore topics through a combination of lectures, audiovisuals, readings and interpretation of the peer-reviewed literature, class activities and one book that student will select from a list of classic or popular public health books, such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and John Updike's "The Jungle". Students will also complete written assignments and participate in in-depth, classroom discussions. We will critically examine and discuss various transitions in public health, focusing on key studies and insights that led to changing concepts and interventions in public health, such as the sanitarian movement, the rise of bacteriology and vaccines, nutritional deficiencies, the rise in chronic diseases, occupational health and unions, maternal and child health, and environmental health. We will also explore mysteries in public health, including why we live longer and the mysterious decline in coronary heart disease.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
1. Identify key transitions, events and figures in public health
2. Appreciate how population strategies, not medical care or medical science, led to greatest increase in life expectancy
3. Describe and compare a contemporary public health problem with an historical problem to gain insight into the evolution and obstacles of translating knowledge into policy.  

EXPECTED OUTCOMES: Students will be able to describe: key figures and events in the sanitarian and public health movements; be familiar with key studies in the development of bacteriology, virology, vaccines, epidemiology, occupational health, maternal & child health, and environmental health. Students will also be able to describe major transitions in public health.

Grading

  • Final Project 25%
  • Midterm Exam 25%
  • Book Reflections 25%
  • Attendance 5%
  • Oral Presentation 20%

REQUIREMENTS:

There is no required textbook for this course. Assigned readings will be journal articles and other readings available in the SFU library or provided by the instructor. Students will select one book to read from a list of classic or popular public health books that should be readily available at SFU library, a local library or a bookstore.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

REQUIRED TEXT: There is no required textbook for this course. Assigned readings will be journal articles and other readings available in the SFU library or provided by the instructor.

REQUIRED READING:

The first assignment for students is to read one popular or historical book about public health. It should NOT be a book you have already read. You can also propose to read a different book on the history of public health, but you will first need approval from the course director if they are not on this list. After reading the book, write a 1-paragraph description of the book and a one-paragraph reflection of insight(s) you gained from the book that excited, surprised or troubled you. I would especially like to know how the book changed your perception of the role of public health. Each paragraph should be 500-words of single-space text.  

1.         The Discovery of Insulin - Michael Bliss
2.         Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
3.         Panum on Measles - Peter Panum
4.         Snow on Cholera - John Snow
5.         The Ghost Map - Steven Johnson
6.         Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond
7.         Betrayal of Public Health - Laurie Garrett
8.         Mirage of Health – Rene Dubos
9.         Rats, Lice and History – Hans Zinsser
10.       Plagues and Peoples – William McNeill
11.      The Remedy by Thomas Goetz
12.      Ashes to Ashes - Richard Klugman
13.      Protecting America’s Health – Philip Hilts
14.      The Great Influenza – John M. Barry
15.      Doubt is Their Product - David Michaels
16.      Deceit and Denial – David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz
17.      The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
18.      Rose’s Strategy of Prevention – Geoffrey Rose
19.      And the Band Played On – Randy Hilts
20.      Poison Profits – Philip and Alice Shabecoff
21.      Living Downstream – Sandra Steingraber
22.      Our Stolen Future – Theo Colborn and others
23.      Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky
24.      Toms River by Dan Fagin

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS