Course Info: NS-0153
| Course | NS-0153 Natural Hist Infectious Dis |
| Long Title | Natural History of Infectious Disease |
| Term | 2015F |
| Note(s) |
Satisfies Distribution Textbook information |
| Meeting Info | Cole Science Center 333 on T,TH from 10:30-11:50 |
| Faculty | Lynn Miller |
| Capacity | 30 |
| Available | 9 |
| Waitlist | 0 |
| Distribution(s) |
Physical and Biological Sciences |
| Cumulative Skill(s) | Independent Work Quantitative Skills Writing and Research |
| Additional Info | In this course students are generally expected to spend at least 6 to 8 hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. |
| Description | Did you ever wonder why Jewish grandmothers who make gefilte fish from Norwegian sturgeon so frequently are parasitized by tapeworms? Maybe not, but who gets parasitized, when, and by what is highly significant to understanding the history of humankind. In this seminar we read and thought about the failure of modern (Western) medicine to eliminate most of the tropical diseases of Homo sapiens. We also introduced the workings of Hampshire College. We read R.S. Desowitz's Federal Bodysnatchers and the New Guinea Virus (2002) and P.J. Hotez's Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases, 2ed (2013), and other articles from the medical and scientific literature. Each student wrote three essays and gave one seminar on the public health, medical, and social aspects of one of these parasitic diseases (malaria, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis, kala-azar, Guinea worm, etc.) focusing on the disease in one particular tropical or subtropical country. Students were encouraged to work in small groups on one parasite. All students were expected to participate in the seminar, to write three essays from the original literature, and to lead one seminar. During the seminar, we spent time thinking and working on the skills needed for successful college-level work: reading, study habits, seminar skills, and writing. Collaborative work was expected throughout. |