Spring 2021 - HSCI 408 D100
Plagues, Pollutants and Poverty: The Origins and Evolution of Public Health (3)
Class Number: 2838
Delivery Method: Remote
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Tue, 8:30–11:20 a.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Bruce Lanphear
bpl3@sfu.ca
1 360 684 2110
Office Hours: Appointments by zoom are flexible with appointment.
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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: Students will become familiar with the origins and evolution of public health in the course, Plagues, Pollutants and Poverty. We will explore topics through a combination of lectures, videos, readings and interpretation of the peer-reviewed literature, class activities and two books that students 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 zoom discussions. We will critically examine and discuss various transitions in public health, focusing on landmark studies and key 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 the impact of plagues on human populations, including the COVID pandemic. Finally, we will 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 landmark studies and key figures in public health
2. Appreciate how population strategies, more than medical care or medical science, led to greatest reduction in disease and 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 landmark 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%
- Recorded Oral Presentation 20%
NOTES:
Class participation and attendance (5%): Students will be evaluated on their willingness to participate in class and on zoom discussions, as well as the degree to which their participation enhances discussion in the class.
Book reflections (25%): Students will read two books that they select from a list of classic or popular public health books, such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and John Updike's "The Jungle". They will write a one-page reflection of each their readings, focusing especially on how the book changed their view of public health.
Presentation (20%): Students will be required to deliver and record an oral presentation of their class project that compares a historical public health problem or solution with a contemporary public health issue, or explores a public health mystery. The presentation will be 10 minutes or less in duration. Students will recieve feedback to help them refine their final written project.
Draft Proposal: Prior to the submission of the final written assignment, students will write a draft, one-page project description that will be reviewed and critiqued by the course director to help them refine their final class project. The draft proposal will not be graded.
Final Class Project (25%): Students will be required to write a final paper that compares a historical public health problem or solution with a contemporary public health issue or explores a public health mystery. Essays are to be a maximum of four pages and will be assessed in terms of both content (75% of the mark) and style (e.g., grammar, flow, ease of reading = 25% of the mark). References are expected and the word limit must be strictly adhered to. Full details of assignments will be given during class.
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 two popular or historical books 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, students will write a one-paragraph description of the book and a one-paragraph reflection or insight(s) you gained from the book. I would especially like to know how the books 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:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
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
TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021
Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).