Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

New formations of wealth and power that contribute to international health disparities and consideration of the relations of power both between and within nation-states that make some people sick and keep others well. Economic and political collusions that make people sick. Infectious disease and child survival, health implications of war, biotech, and the politics of food and water.

COURSE DETAILS:

Here’s what you need to know about HSCI 308 Summer Session, June 26-July 31, 2024:

• The course is designed for students who really want to understand why some people get sick and others don’t. It’s not about viruses and bacteria, but rather about the politics and economies of sickness.
• This course is not for you if you’re: Just looking for course credits? Squeezing one last course in before graduation? Taking 3-4 other courses in Summer term? The course is too rigorous for that.
• Every year there are students who earn A+s and there are students who fail. There’s a pattern: Those who failed didn’t do the work and/or they missed too many classes and/or they didn’t use the class discussion activities to learn more than what they already knew.
• Course assignments are designed so that people who earnestly do the work and engage in the activities can get in the B+-A+ range. The class average is usually around a B, plus or minus.
• The course is six weeks long, twice a week, Mon and Wed afternoons. Kinda intense.
• The classes: They’re 3 hours long, and I lecture only for a total of about an hour. There are activities, simulations, and discussions in every class. Participation counts.
• There is a lot of talking with other people, lots of back and forth between students, and with the teacher. In class we explore ideas and readings without students having to be perfect or say the perfect thing. The class is designed for students to learn and freely share ideas and hear a diversity of opinions. It’s not about owning the perfect idea, but rather about using conversation and discussion to sharpen your own thoughts and understandings about the politics and economics about why people get sick. It’s also about building confidence to speak in groups. The course asks hard questions without fear. We just try to work through ideas through talking and everyone sharing thoughts about what things mean.
• No phones, tablets, computers in class. No kidding. Here’s why: 1) When we’re on our phones and screens, we are elsewhere. In HSCI 308, we're talking with other people about real stuff – it’s about being present, not elsewhere. 2) Students need to know that no one is recording or videoing them (this happened one year) as they practice new conversational skills and try out new ideas. You get to make mistakes in my classroom, and this means feeling free enough to speak up and try out new ways to be convincing and persuasive in conversations, based on the readings, without the threat of your learning and practicing being broadcast.
• The readings: There’s no way to do well in this course without reading the assignments. But they are well-written and on the shorter side of university reading assignments. I’m really fussy about what I pick for the HSCI 308 readings because I really want you to read them (plus, I personally hate boring readings).
• The classroom: Setup is tables, not rows of lecture seats.
• The exams: It’s hard to cheat in this course. There are two exams, in person, invigilated. Each exam is newly made up (doesn’t use previous year exam questions). They are a mix of multiple choice, matching, and short essays that you write out by hand. The exams are based on the readings and the in-class experiences. Pretty much everything we do in class is examinable. The exams are fair and you’ll get a study guide one class ahead of time. But you’ll have to do the heavy lifting from Day 1.
• The assignments: In addition to exams and reading for every class, there is a Critical Thinking assignment and a Logical Fallacies Quiz. We live in a time when some people work very hard to make truth/evidence irrelevant. The assignments are designed to help you develop skills to sort that out for yourself.

Grading 

1. Participation 15%
2. Exam 1  (Monday, July 15, 2024. No makeups. Plan accordingly.) 30%
3. Exam 2  (Wednesday, July 31, 2024. No makeups. Plan accordingly.) 30%
4. Critical Thinking Assignment  (due Monday, July 8, 2024) 10%
5. In-class Logical Fallacies Quiz  (Wednesday, July 10, 2024. No makeups. Plan accordingly) 15%

I love teaching this course and I really want you to succeed in it.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By course end, students should be able to:

1. Identify global institutional and economic arrangements that increase the likelihood of sickness.
2. Identify and weigh impact of contributing and complex factors of human health phenomena.
3. Name and critique elements of economic systems that shape global health outcomes.
4. Demonstrate critical thinking in preparatory, oral, and written work, specifically demonstrating an ability to identify fallacies of reasoning and strength of evidence.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Readings will be available on Canvas.

REQUIRED READING NOTES: