Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - SA 318 D100

Technologies of Health and Expectation (A) (4)

Class Number: 4938

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Wed, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Investigates how medical technologies are altering ways we perceive our bodies, frame moral questions about health, and imagine human possibilities. Case studies from around the world are used to examine the social, ethical, and political dilemmas that surface when people interact with biomedical objects under different conditions.

COURSE DETAILS:

Pathogens are part of society; epidemics are social events. How do “germs” participate in the making of social worlds? In this course you will venture into the realities of previous epidemics, such as Ebola, SARS, HIV/AIDS, the 1918 “Spanish” Flu, and the nineteenth century global epidemic waves of cholera and bubonic plague. These past epidemic events continue to reverberate in our own lives, invisibly sculpting our present, whether you know it or not. What was happening socially, at the time of these epidemics? How did people make sense of what was going on? How did groups of people mobilize in the face of crisis? What controversies divided people? Which people bore which kinds of burdens in efforts to control disease? What can the research about those events show us about our current expectations, fears, and hopes in this era of covid-19, Avian flu, measles epidemics, and other transmissible diseases?

This course applies the biocultural understanding of human health from medical anthropology. Working through examples past and present, and from around the world, and with special attention to disease control under colonial rule, we will unpack the idea that epidemics do not “begin” with a pathogen, but rather come to exist in the conditions of overlapping social, political, environmental, and economic realms.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Describe historical contexts surrounding epidemic disease events and their relations to political ideology, health and social policies, and socioeconomic vulnerability, including the context of empire and racial capitalism
  • Illustrate the social, political, and cultural dimensions of disease
  • Explain how epidemic disease outbreaks bring about underlying anxieties about race, ethnicity, and national belonging
  • Describe the intended and unintended consequences of disease management in relation to discrimination, blame, and surveillance
  • Develop skills and confidence in learning from and talking about complex, open-ended case studies

Grading

  • weekly worksheet submissions = preparation for class meetings; plus attendance and participation in class activities 30%
  • 2 reading responses/discussion leadership (10% each – sign up for the week) 20%
  • group project – presentation and “briefing” on pandemic history (10% of this is based on individual work; 15% is group grade) 25%
  • final project 25%

NOTES:

Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, an N grade will be assigned. Unless otherwise specified on the course syllabus, all graded assignments for this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned. This means that you must write the midterm exam, participate in at least half of the seminars, complete at least half of the discussion questions, give a presentation, and submit the proposal and essay. An N is considered as an F for the purposes of scholastic standing.

Grading System: The Undergraduate Course Grading System is as follows:

A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements

Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Policies: The Department of Sociology & Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T20.01), and academic honesty and student conduct procedures (S10‐S10.05). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website.

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

The Sociology and Anthropology Student Union, SASU, is a governing body of students who are engaged with the department and want to build the SA community. Get involved!  Follow Facebook and Instagram pages or visit our website.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

  • Scanner app for smart phone (e.g. Scanner Pro, Camscanner, Adobe Scan)
  • Notebook (paper), for handwritten drawing and notes (no laptops/phones in class)

REQUIRED READING:

All required reading will be available in digital form through SFU library reserves. I recommend that you plan to print out readings so that you can annotate them/take notes by hand.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.