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About the Course Listings
Four views and tools each provide different ways of exploring the curriculum.
- Current Year Courses for this Department or Program lists only currently-offered classes, and includes scheduling and instructor information.
- The Three-Year Planner for this Department or Program lists all courses (in numerical order) offered during the current year and the last two years. Use it to understand the full course offerings from the department and how frequently courses are offered. This list does not include any scheduling information; instructor information is only historical and is likely to change in future years.
- The Tri-Co Course Search Engine lists the current offerings for all departments and programs at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore Colleges, and includes scheduling and instructor information.
- The HC Academic Catalog Course Search Engine includes faceted searching (by division, domain, department, major, minor, and other fields) for all courses offered in the current year and the last two years. It does not contain scheduling information, but like the Three-Year Planner, can help you discover related interests and understand the typical pattern of offerings from year to year. This tool does not include all Bryn Mawr offerings.
Courses at Haverford
Africana Studies Courses
AFST H334 RACE AND POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores how race is intertwined with infectious diseases in producing persistent social and health inequalities in the U.S. and abroad. It will examine how human group difference is understood as a given and natural condition despite sociocultural, historical, political, and economic contexts that shape it. It will deal with incidents demonstrated racialized understanding of the body and racial discrimination and inequalities perpetuated in the context of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Ebola, Cholera and Covid 19. Crosslisted: AFST,ANTH. Pre-requisite(s): None. Lottery Preference: declared Health Studies minors, then African studies minors or Anthropology majors
Anthropology Courses
ANTH H265 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What does it mean to attempt a critical anthropology of the body, illness experience, disease etiology, healing practices, and the epistemology of contemporary biomedicine across a diverse group of cultures and traditions? This course seeks to begin to answer this and other questions by examining the historical development of the field of medical anthropology, exploring the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the debates that have shaped the field, and examining the methodological concerns and ethnographic investigations that have broadened the scope of its inquiry. Readings range from classical ethnographic writings, philosophical treatises, anthropological theory, indigenous philosophers, and first person accounts of illness and health.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
ANTH H333 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF MIGRATION AND GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH: POLITICS, EPISTEMOLOGIES, CRITIQUES (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
How should anthropologists think about the relationship between migration and ongoing debates in the international psychiatric community about global mental health in theory and practice? What happens when both people and ideas move across political borders, between institutions of care, and through the historical and intellectual borderlands that sit between different healing traditions? This course explores these and other related questions through a variety of readings in sociocultural and medical anthropology with a focus on the subjects of the politics of asylum, medical humanitarianism, and transcultural psychiatry. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): 200 level course in Anthropology, Heath Studies, History, Sociology, Political science, or Peace Justice and Human Rights. Lottery Preference: Anthropology and Health Studies seniors.
ANTH H334 RACE AND POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores how race is intertwined with infectious diseases in producing persistent social and health inequalities in the U.S. and abroad. It will examine how human group difference is understood as a given and natural condition despite sociocultural, historical, political, and economic contexts that shape it. It will deal with incidents demonstrated racialized understanding of the body and racial discrimination and inequalities perpetuated in the context of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Ebola, Cholera and Covid 19. Crosslisted: AFST,ANTH. Pre-requisite(s): None. Lottery Preference: declared Health Studies minors, then African studies minors or Anthropology majors
ANTH H335 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF ECSTASY: PSYCHE, SOMA, AND THE OUT-OF-BODY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
How should contemporary anthropology understand trance, possession, and ecstatic experience? Through course readings, we will interrogate normative understandings of the relationship between mind, body, and collective life via a range of classical and contemporary anthropological texts. Drawing upon diverse theoretical paradigms such as symbolic and structural anthropology, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology, we will explore the ways in which individual engagements with collective life act directly upon and constitute this mind/body interface, at times destabilizing it altogether. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): 200 level course in the social sciences Lottery Preference: I would prefer students who are majoring in anthropology and/or health studies be given preference.
ANTH H336 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MEDICINE, POWER: (DE)COLONIAL KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION & EPISTEMOLOGICAL COMMUNITY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course traces the relationship between scientific knowledge production, notions of technological "progress," and political, economic, and institutional power through the disciplinary histories of anthropology and Science and Technology Studies. Texts will include STS classics that frame contemporary science and medicine as the products of political and economic history, as well as work in anthropology and STS that center non-western and indigenous traditions of knowledge and the voices of BIPOC and feminist scholars. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): Introductory level coursework in anthropology (sociocultural or medical) or health studies Lottery Preference: Anthropology, health studies, history, political science
(Offered: Spring 2025)
ANTH H338 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF ADDICTION: SUBSTANCE, COMMUNITY, AND THE PROBLEM OF CARE (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the conceptual, methodological, and ethical complexities of marking “addiction” as an object of anthropological inquiry. Together we will investigate what anthropologists, medical doctors, public health scholars, and people living with addiction can gain from ethnographic research. We will ask: how can ethnography help us to better understand the degree to which the phenomenon of addiction is socially, culturally, and scientifically constructed but also experienced in intimate and often deeply painful ways? Crosslisted: HLTH.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Biology Courses
BIOL H304 NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING (0.5 Credit)
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will take an in-depth look at age-related changes in the central nervous system (CNS), focusing on both neuronal and non-neuronal contributors. The relationship of these nervous system changes to age-related cognitive decline will be highlighted. Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and BIOL H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above.
BIOL H311 ADVANCED GENETIC ANALYSIS (0.5 Credit)
Nancy Maas
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
The molecular mechanisms governing the transmission, mutation and expression of genes. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of experimental genetic methods to analyze other areas of biology. Crosslisted: Biology, Health Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and BIOL H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
(Offered: Spring 2025)
BIOL H311 ADVANCED GENETIC ANALYSIS (0.5 Credit)
Nancy Maas, Staff
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
The molecular mechanisms governing the transmission, mutation and expression of genes. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of experimental genetic methods to analyze other areas of biology. Crosslisted: Biology, Health Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and BIOL H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
(Offered: Spring 2025)
BIOL H320 MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY (0.5 Credit)
Jessica Comstock
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
A study of prokaryotic biology with emphasis on cell structure, gene organization and expression, which will incorporate selected readings from the primary literature. Topics include the bacterial and viral cell structure, the genetics of bacteria and bacteriophage, gene regulation, horizontal gene transfer and microbial genomics. The course will be taught via lecture, class presentation and discussion, and workshops. Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200A and H201B with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
(Offered: Spring 2025)
BIOL H325 MOLECULAR VIROLOGY (0.5 Credit)
Eric Miller
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will focus on the study of virus structure, genome organization, replication, and interactions with the host. Many different families of viruses will be highlighted, with an emphasis on those that infect humans, and specific viruses, especially those of clinical importance, will be incorporated as models within each family. Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and BIOL H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
BIOL H328 IMMUNOLOGY (0.5 Credit)
Kimberly Wodzanowski
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will provide an introduction to the rapidly expanding discipline of immunology. Students will learn about the molecular and cellular basis of the immune response through the study of the genetics and biochemistry of antigen receptors, the biochemistry of immune cell activation, the cell physiology of the immune system, immune memory, immune tolerance induction and immune-mediated cell death. Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and BIOL H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
BIOL H337 PATHOGENIC MICROBIOLOGY (0.5 Credit)
Jessica Comstock
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will examine the role of medically-significant pathogenic microorganisms in causing disease in humans and other animals. Viruses, bacteria, and fungi all can have devastating effects on their hosts, and modes of infection, host-microbe interactions, pathogenesis, anti-microbial treatments and the emergence of drug resistance will be examined at cellular and molecular levels for a variety of pathogens important in human and veterinary medicine. Pre-requisite(s): BIOL H200A and H201B with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
Chemistry Courses
CHEM H222 ORGANIC BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY (1.0 Credit)
Alberto Lopez, Leah Seebald
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
Survey of organic chemistry reactions in an aqueous environment, highlighting transformations important for understanding the properties and reactivity of biomolecules in the cell, with emphasis on functional groups, acids and bases, chirality, energetics, reaction mechanisms, enzyme inhibitors and drug design. One lab per week required. One recitation per week required. Prerequisite(s): CHEM H111 or CHEM H113 or CHEM H115; and CHEM 104 or CHEM H112 or CHEM H114. Alternatively, students who have taken a two semester General Chemistry course elsewhere (for instance, CHEM B103 and CHEM B104) must, prior to the start of CHEM H222, demonstrate knowledge (by a self-scheduled exam) of common organic functional group structures and spectroscopic methods (as covered by CHEM H111, CHEM H113 and CHEM H115); students should contact the Department Chair the instructor immediately after preregistration to obtain access to a self-guided course centered on these topics.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
English Courses
ENGL H226 DISABILITY AND LITERATURE (1.0 Credit)
Danielle Allor
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
How are bodies and minds depicted as "normal" or "abnormal"? This course will address how bodily differences and impairments are given social meaning as disability, and how these disabilities are portrayed in literary genres including scripture, hagiography, poetry, drama, novels, short stories, and memoir. We study these depictions from the perspective of disability studies, a discipline that seeks to understand the cultural meanings and material realities of disability with respect to systems of oppression. Pre-requisite(s): Completion of the Writing Requirement
(Offered: Spring 2025)
ENGL H353 VICTORIAN POVERTY, ECOLOGY, AND PUBLIC HEALTH (1.0 Credit)
Stephen Finley
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course will be centered upon the homeless and working poor of the 1840s and 1850s as they are described in the literature and social documents of the period. We focus on the relationship between human destitution and environmental degradation. The course, often simply, is about sewers (or lack thereof) and sewage—about water, contamination, and epidemic disease.
History Courses
HIST H206 HEALTH AND MEDICINE IN MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores key themes in the history of medicine, health, and healing in the modern United States, including the evolution of the medical profession; the role of race, class, and gender in shaping medical ideas and practices; shifting burdens of disease; relationships between patients and practitioners; medical science and the rise of biomedicine; the social meanings of disease; relationships between medicine, industry, and public health; and hospitals and health insurance. Pre-requisite(s): None
HIST H258 PLAGUES, DISEASES, AND EPIDEMICS IN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Darin Hayton
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
COVID joins a long list of epidemics that have terrified people, upended our comfortable existence, and been the source of fundamental disagreements (about cause, treatment, and reality). This course examines the theories and strategies that people developed to explain the advent and spread of individual plagues. Outbreaks of the Black Death, the French Disease (syphilis ?), various fevers, and deadly diseases provide opportunities to examine how societies understand, categorize diseases, and attempt to control.
HIST H310 POLITICAL TECHNOLOGIES OF RACE AND THE BODY (1.0 Credit)
Andrew Friedman
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines the technologies, ideologies, and material strategies that have created and specified human beings as racialized and gendered subjects in the U.S. Readings cover biopolitics, disability studies, material culture, histories of disease, medicine, violence and industrialization. In our discussions and research, we will aim to decode the production of "reality" at its most basic and molecular level. Crosslisted: History, Health Studies
HIST H312 SICK CITY: URBAN HEALTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines cities as sites of public health concern in modern American history. We consider the meaning of “public health” as a distinct domain of action, expertise, and authority by thinking historically about why certain health problems have attracted public attention while others are seen as matters of private responsibility, how some urban spaces become sites of medical concern while others are neglected, and how race, class, and gender shape urban health interventions. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H/B115, or any course in History, or permission of the instructor.
Health Studies Courses
HLTH H115 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Lauren Minsky
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
The multidisciplinary foundation for the health studies minor. Students will be introduced to theories and methods from the life sciences, social sciences, and humanities and will learn to apply them to problems of health and illness. Topics include epidemiological, public health, and biomedical perspectives on health and disease; social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of health; globalization of health issues; cultural representations of illness; health inequalities, social justice, and the ethics of health as a human right.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
HLTH H206 HEALTH AND MEDICINE IN MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores key themes in the history of medicine, health, and healing in the modern United States, including the evolution of the medical profession; the role of race, class, and gender in shaping medical ideas and practices; shifting burdens of disease; relationships between patients and practitioners; medical science and the rise of biomedicine; the social meanings of disease; relationships between medicine, industry, and public health; and hospitals and health insurance. Pre-requisite(s): None
HLTH H214 MEMOIRS OF ILLNESS AND DISABILITY (1.0 Credit)
Carol Schilling
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This seminar explores recent memoirs about a range of illnesses and disabilities written from the experiences of patients, family caregivers, and physicians. Our close reading will be attentive to both the personal/experiential and cultural/structural stories they tell. Prerequisite(s): First-Year Writing Seminar
(Offered: Spring 2025)
HLTH H215 SACRIFICE ZONES: EMPIRES, EPIDEMICS, AND CLIMATE CHANGES (1.0 Credit)
Lauren Minsky
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Global health environments have been shaped by human activities of imperialism and globalization since antiquity. Explore the relationships between intensive agriculture and the cultivation of disease; trade and disease spread; industrial capitalism, metabolic disorders and cancers; and differential racial, gendered and class entitlements and life expectancy. Participate in debates over how to address humanity's current existential crisis, and learn about alternative approaches to “healing” global health environments that can be recycled from our global past. Pre-requisite(s): Intro to Health Studies (HLTH H115/HLTH B115) or permission of instructor. Lottery Preference: (1) Declared Health Studies minors, (2) Environmental Studies and/or History majors/minors
(Offered: Fall 2024)
HLTH H216 EPIDEMIC CITY: PHILADELPHIA FROM YELLOW FEVER TO COVID-19 (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will examine how Philadelphia and other American cities have responded to epidemic disease throughout history, and, in turn, how epidemic diseases have shaped urban space and urban life. As part of the Tri-Co Philly Program, the course will provide students with opportunities to engage with historical sites and institutions in Philadelphia on topics relating to epidemics such as yellow fever, influenza, HIV/AIDS, and COVID. Prerequisite(s): Priority in registration will be given to students participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program and Health Studies minors. Remaining seats are available to other Tri-Co students, by lottery, if demand exceeds remaining spaces in the course. If you are interested in the program, you must fill out the application, which is due on Friday, March 31 by 11:59 pm (https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program). The program includes registering for two of three program’s three courses: this course or Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, Action/Philadelphia (ENVS 035/SOAN 035) or Public Art, Historical Preservation, and the Ethics of Commemoration (PHIL B234). Those not participating in the Philly program do not need to complete the application and can simply pre-register for a class. Lottery Preference: (1) Tri-Co Philly Cohort, (2) Health Studies minors.
HLTH H219 BREATHING TOGETHER: AIR, CAPITALISM, AND HEALTH (1.0 Credit)
Anna West
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the history of public health approaches to the properties, pathogenic potential, and politics of shared air. We ask what it means to breathe together—as humans in a global economic system—at multiple scales, from interpersonal to institutional, industrial, and imperial. Topics include miasma, tuberculosis, industrial pollution, occupational health and gendered labor, household fuels, secondhand smoke, incinerators, megacities. Texts are drawn from history, public health, science and technology studies, geography, and anthropology. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H/B115, a health-related writing seminar, or at least one course in the humanities or social sciences Lottery Preference: In descending order: 1. declared Health Studies minors 2. Sophomores 3. Anthropology majors and minors 4. Environmental Studies majors and minors
HLTH H226 RADICAL MEDICINE (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Novel social experiments of medicine can disrupt the existing healthcare system, enabling alternative political imaginations. Students will read ethnographies written by physician anthropologists or ethnographies about physicians caring vulnerable populations, including undocumented migrants, prisoners, and HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries. Crosslisted: Health Studies, Anthropology
HLTH H227 HEALTH & EXPERTISE IN AFRICA (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This class examines the politics of health in Africa with a focus on the diverse forms of health expertise practiced on the continent. We will consider the relationships between scientific and medical practices and broader political systems in Africa and the diaspora, investigate the interface between knowledge traditions emerging from within and outside the continent, and consider how experts attempt to intervene in the domain of health. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH 115 or instructor consent Lottery Preference: 1) declared health studies minors, 2) sophomores
HLTH H232 FOOD, HEALTH, & JUSTICE (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This class examines the complex connections between food, understandings of health, and social justice. The availability of sufficient, appealing, and healthy food is critical for human wellbeing, but what constitutes good food and what it means to thrive are each significantly shaped by social, cultural, and historical context. This class takes an interdisciplinary approach to situate food and health in their social and cultural contexts. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH 115 or instructor consent Lottery Preference: 1) declared health studies minors, 2) sophomores
HLTH H265 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What does it mean to attempt a critical anthropology of the body, illness experience, disease etiology, healing practices, and the epistemology of contemporary biomedicine across a diverse group of cultures and traditions? This course seeks to begin to answer this and other questions by examining the historical development of the field of medical anthropology, exploring the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the debates that have shaped the field, and examining the methodological concerns and ethnographic investigations that have broadened the scope of its inquiry. Readings range from classical ethnographic writings, philosophical treatises, anthropological theory, indigenous philosophers, and first person accounts of illness and health.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
HLTH H302 CARE AND SOCIAL ACTION IN CONTEXTS OF INEQUALITY (1.0 Credit)
Carol Schilling
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course brings together questions and texts about social justice, health, and social action, especially during health emergencies. The course integrates the humanities and social medicine through cross-disciplinary readings about witnessing and representing inequalities, cultural conceptions of health, structural determinants of health, and models of care. Will also draw on students’ own experiences giving and receiving care, on historical and current examples of care, and on literary and visual representations of caregiving.
HLTH H304 CRITICAL DISABILITY STUDIES: THEORY AND PRACTICE (1.0 Credit)
Kristin Lindgren
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
An examination of work in critical disability studies across a range of humanistic disciplines and an exploration of how disability theory and engaged community practice inform and shape one another. The course includes a weekly praxis partnership with the Center for Creative Works, a community artspace for artists with intellectual disabilities. Enrollment Limit: 15 Lottery Preference: Health Studies seniors
(Offered: Spring 2025)
HLTH H305 THE LOGIC AND POLITICS OF GLOBAL HEALTH (1.0 Credit)
Anna West
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course engages critically with changing intervention paradigms in global health from the late colonial period to the present. Topics include colonial and missionary medicine; sanitation and segregation; medicalization of reproduction; eradication campaigns; family planning; labor hierarchies; postcolonial technoscience; medical research. Prerequisite(s): HLTH 115 OR at least one course in anthropology or history OR permission of the instructor
(Offered: Fall 2024)
HLTH H309 TRAUMA, HISTORICAL MEMORY, AND EMBODIMENT (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
Historical memories of mass atrocity shape trauma and bodily experiences of present-day generations. This course is based on “hauntology,” the study of traumatic historical memories which affect contemporary psychological and political processes, with readings from anthropology, history, philosophy, psychoanalysis and sociology. Crosslisted: Health Studies, Anthropology Prerequisite(s): HLTH 115 OR a 200-level anthropology or history class OR permission of instructor
HLTH H310 POLITICAL TECHNOLOGIES OF RACE AND THE BODY (1.0 Credit)
Andrew Friedman
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines the technologies, ideologies, and material strategies that have created and specified human beings as racialized and gendered subjects in the U.S. Readings cover biopolitics, disability studies, material culture, histories of disease, medicine, violence and industrialization. In our discussions and research, we will aim to decode the production of "reality" at its most basic and molecular level. Crosslisted: History, Health Studies
HLTH H312 SICK CITY: URBAN HEALTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines cities as sites of public health concern in modern American history. We consider the meaning of “public health” as a distinct domain of action, expertise, and authority by thinking historically about why certain health problems have attracted public attention while others are seen as matters of private responsibility, how some urban spaces become sites of medical concern while others are neglected, and how race, class, and gender shape urban health interventions. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H/B115, or any course in History, or permission of the instructor.
HLTH H315 CANCER NARRATIVES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Cancer is not merely the leading cause of mortality, but a significant metaphor to understand human experience in contemporary society. Despite triumphant hype of paradigm-shifts in clinical medicine, less attention has been paid to illness experiences of cancer patients, which cannot be reduced to numbers and diagnosis in description. Their living with uncertainties and hope, and navigating therapeutic and moral landscapes in resource-limited circumstances provide a lens to critically examine healthcare system and sociopolitical conditions. Pre-requisite(s): Any previous course in Health Studies
HLTH H316 MAKING AND MISTAKING RACE IN AMERICAN MEDICINE (1.0 Credit)
Anna West
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines the origins and development of American medical and scientific thinking about race. Drawing on histories of medicine, critical race theory, science and technology studies, sociology, and medical anthropology, we trouble the idea of race-as-biological-difference and explore the social construction of (pseudo)scientific knowledge about race, bodies, genes, and health. Students learn to historicize genomic and post-genomic discourses of racial difference, and develop communication strategies for confronting racial essentialism in medicine and public discourse. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H115 or a 100-level course in Anthropology, Sociology, or History Lottery Preference: Senior Health Studies minors Junior Health Studies minors Africana Studies minors and concentrators Anthropology majors and minors
(Offered: Spring 2025)
HLTH H318 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: HISTORIES AND ETHNOGRAPHIES (1.0 Credit)
Lauren Minsky
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What is “traditional medicine” and why is it simultaneously revered, reviled and suppressed? How does traditional medicine relate to “antique” senses and sensibilities of an enchanted cosmos, seasonality and stewardship? How have people translated and transformed traditional medicine for a “modern” world? Does traditional medicine have relevance for the climate crisis and billionaires’ efforts to conjure transhumanism? Readings include TCM; Kampo; Talmudic Medicine; Ayurveda; Unani-tibb; Homeopathy; Sufi, Saint and Goddess cults; Yoga; and Nature Cure. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH 115, or any course in History, Anthropology or Religion, or permission of the instructor Lottery Preference: (1) Declared Health Studies seniors; (2) Declared Health Studies juniors; (3) History, Anthropology, Environmental studies, or Religion majors; (4) Everyone else.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
HLTH H319 METABOLIC DISORDERS (1.0 Credit)
Lauren Minsky
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World; C: Physical and Natural Processes
Life and death are animated by metabolism — the biochemical conversion of gases and matter into energy, and the reverse. We learn the current biochemistry of metabolism, and how social scientists draw upon scientific models of metabolism to explain how societies power production and exchange in ways that generate collective life, growth, disease and death. We then study pandemics of “metabolic disorders”, including diabetes, cardiac disease, cancer, IBD, autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and infertility. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H115 or at least one course in the humanities or social sciences Lottery Preference: 1) Health Studies minors — seniors; 2) Health studies minors — juniors; 3) students with health-related independent majors; 4) Environmental studies majors; 5) Environmental studies minors
(Offered: Spring 2025)
HLTH H320 BIOPOLITICS: THE GOVERNANCE OF LIFE & DEATH (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Philosopher Michel Foucault described biopolitics as a kind of politics aimed at fostering life or disallowing it to the point of death. As such, this class considers “the politics of life itself.” After reading key texts in biopolitical theory, we will examine works by social scientists who analyze institutions and forms of expertise that take life as an object of knowledge or intervention in a variety of political and economic settings. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH 115 or instructor consent Lottery Preference: 1) declared health studies minors, 2) seniors
HLTH H333 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF MIGRATION AND GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH: POLITICS, EPISTEMOLOGIES, CRITIQUES (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
How should anthropologists think about the relationship between migration and ongoing debates in the international psychiatric community about global mental health in theory and practice? What happens when both people and ideas move across political borders, between institutions of care, and through the historical and intellectual borderlands that sit between different healing traditions? This course explores these and other related questions through a variety of readings in sociocultural and medical anthropology with a focus on the subjects of the politics of asylum, medical humanitarianism, and transcultural psychiatry. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): 200 level course in Anthropology, Heath Studies, History, Sociology, Political science, or Peace Justice and Human Rights. Lottery Preference: Anthropology and Health Studies seniors.
HLTH H334 RACE AND POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores how race is intertwined with infectious diseases in producing persistent social and health inequalities in the U.S. and abroad. It will examine how human group difference is understood as a given and natural condition despite sociocultural, historical, political, and economic contexts that shape it. It will deal with incidents demonstrated racialized understanding of the body and racial discrimination and inequalities perpetuated in the context of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Ebola, Cholera and Covid 19. Crosslisted: AFST,ANTH. Pre-requisite(s): None. Lottery Preference: declared Health Studies minors, then African studies minors or Anthropology majors
HLTH H335 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF ECSTASY: PSYCHE, SOMA, AND THE OUT-OF-BODY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
How should contemporary anthropology understand trance, possession, and ecstatic experience? Through course readings, we will interrogate normative understandings of the relationship between mind, body, and collective life via a range of classical and contemporary anthropological texts. Drawing upon diverse theoretical paradigms such as symbolic and structural anthropology, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology, we will explore the ways in which individual engagements with collective life act directly upon and constitute this mind/body interface, at times destabilizing it altogether. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): 200 level course in the social sciences Lottery Preference: I would prefer students who are majoring in anthropology and/or health studies be given preference.
HLTH H336 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MEDICINE, POWER: (DE)COLONIAL KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION & EPISTEMOLOGICAL COMMUNITY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course traces the relationship between scientific knowledge production, notions of technological "progress," and political, economic, and institutional power through the disciplinary histories of anthropology and Science and Technology Studies. Texts will include STS classics that frame contemporary science and medicine as the products of political and economic history, as well as work in anthropology and STS that center non-western and indigenous traditions of knowledge and the voices of BIPOC and feminist scholars. Crosslisted: HLTH. Pre-requisite(s): Introductory level coursework in anthropology (sociocultural or medical) or health studies Lottery Preference: Anthropology, health studies, history, political science
(Offered: Spring 2025)
HLTH H338 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF ADDICTION: SUBSTANCE, COMMUNITY, AND THE PROBLEM OF CARE (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the conceptual, methodological, and ethical complexities of marking “addiction” as an object of anthropological inquiry. Together we will investigate what anthropologists, medical doctors, public health scholars, and people living with addiction can gain from ethnographic research. We will ask: how can ethnography help us to better understand the degree to which the phenomenon of addiction is socially, culturally, and scientifically constructed but also experienced in intimate and often deeply painful ways? Crosslisted: HLTH.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
HLTH H398 SENIOR SEMINAR IN HEALTH STUDIES,SENIOR SEMINAR HEALTH STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Anna West
Domain(s): ,B: Analysis of the Social World
Required culminating seminar, which integrates the three tracks of the Health Studies minor. Students share and critically assess their own and fellow students’ ongoing work to communicate across disciplines and understand the value and interconnectedness of different disciplinary approaches. Students present and defend their semester-long collaborative projects at the end of the course. Prerequisite(s): HLTH 115; students must be in their senior year and be declared Health Studies minors in good standing
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
HLTH H480 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1.0 Credit)
Michael D'Arcy
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor is required.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
Mathematics Courses
MATH H203 STATISTICAL METHODS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS (1.0 Credit)
Lynne Butler
Division: Natural Science; Quantitative
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introduction to statistical methods used to analyze data in the natural and social sciences. It covers descriptive statistics, the binomial and normal distributions, expected value and variance, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, comparison of two samples, regression, and analysis of variance. A required computer lab, using R, is taught alongside this course. Crosslisted: Mathematics, Statistics Prerequisite(s): MATH 118 or higher, placement into MATH 121 or higher, or instructor consent. Students who have taken another introductory statistics course at Haverford or Bryn Mawr may only enroll in STAT 203 with instructor consent
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Peace, Justice and Human Rights Courses
PEAC H201 APPLIED ETHICS OF PEACE, JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS (1.0 Credit)
Prea Persaud Khanna
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course surveys major legal and ethical theories with a view to helping students understand arguments about peace, justice and human rights and formulate their own creative approaches to ethical problems. Theories will be applied to concrete problems of justice. No prerequisites.
(Offered: Spring 2025)
Psychology Courses
PSYC H242 CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Peiyao Chen
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An examination of cultural variation in psychological processes, covering development, personality, social behavior, neuroscience and genetics, and acculturation and multiculturalism. Prerequisite(s): PSYC 100 or PSYC B105 or Psychology AP Score of 4 or instructor consent
PSYC H337 STRESS AND COPING (1.0 Credit)
Shu-wen Wang
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An examination of theory and research on stress and coping processes, and their links with disease and mental health. Students will also learn and apply stress management techniques. Crosslisted: Psychology, Health Studies Prerequisite(s): PSYC H100 or PSYC B105 or Psychology AP Score 4, and one topical 200-level Psychology course (i.e., not PSYC H200, B205)
Sociology Courses
SOCL H217 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (1.0 Credit)
Elise Herrala
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines and provides basic training in qualitative methods used in sociological research, including the application and conceptualization of theory, research design, sampling, strategies for framing research and interview questions, and data coding and analysis. Prerequisite(s): SOCL 155A or SOCL 155B, or instructor consent
Statistics Courses
STAT H203 STATISTICAL METHODS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS (1.0 Credit)
Lynne Butler, Weiwen Miao
Division: Natural Science; Quantitative
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introduction to statistical methods used to analyze data in the natural and social sciences. It covers descriptive statistics, the binomial and normal distributions, expected value and variance, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, comparison of two samples, regression, and analysis of variance. A required computer lab, using R, is taught alongside this course. Crosslisted: Mathematics, Statistics Prerequisite(s): MATH 118 or higher, placement into MATH 121 or higher, or instructor. consent. Students who have taken another introductory statistics course at Haverford or Bryn Mawr may only enroll in STAT 203 with instructor consent Enrollment Limit: 20,An introduction to statistical methods used to analyze data in the natural and social sciences. It covers descriptive statistics, the binomial and normal distributions, expected value and variance, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, comparison of two samples, regression, and analysis of variance. A required computer lab, using R, is taught alongside this course. Crosslisted: Mathematics, Statistics Prerequisite(s): MATH 118 or higher, placement into MATH 121 or higher, or instructor consent. Students who have taken another introductory statistics course at Haverford or Bryn Mawr may only enroll in STAT 203 with instructor consent
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
Writing Program Courses
WRPR H105 THE POLITICS OF SELF-CARE (1.0 Credit)
Jess Libow
Division: First Year Writing
In this course, we’ll interrogate the relationships between self-care; politics; and physical, mental, and spiritual health by turning to three distinct moments in the history of American self-care: “self-reliance” in the 19th c. as articulated by Emerson and Thoreau; late 20th c activist groups including the Black Panther Party, the Boston Women’s Health Collective, and ACT UP; and contemporary understandings of self-care discourses such as wellness and the perspectives of those living with chronic illnesses. Pre-requisite(s): Placement by the Director of College Writing.
WRPR H120 EVOLUTIONARY ARGUMENTS (1.0 Credit)
Carol Schilling
Division: First Year Writing
From the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century to the present, scientists, ethicists, disability activists, and others have argued about the uses of increasingly sophisticated technologies for preventing certain inherited traits and enhancing others. We will track representative arguments in ethics, the court, social movements, and popular culture. How do these medical technologies intersect with cultural values and beliefs? How do they influence who will be included in the human community? Open only to first-year students as assigned by the Director of College Writing.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
WRPR H135 HEALTH AND HUMANITIES (1.0 Credit)
Division: First Year Writing; Humanities
Over the last few decades, “medical humanities” and “health humanities” programs have been popping up in health professional schools across the country. In these courses, students study works of art, literature, history, and philosophy in the hopes that these endeavors will help them become better healthcare providers. But what exactly are “the humanities”? How do they differ from “the arts” or “humanity” itself? And how does a humanistic education benefit healthcare providers and their patients? Open only to first-year students as assigned by the Director of College Writing.
(Offered: Spring 2025)
WRPR H188 EPIDEMICS AND SOCIETY (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: First Year Writing
An examination of the ways epidemics are shaped by society, culture, and popular representation, using historical sources to explore the politics of disease narratives and how class, race, and identity influence responses to epidemics. Open only to first-year students as assigned by the Director of College Writing.
Courses at Bryn Mawr
Anthropology Courses
ANTH B312 ANTHROPOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION (1.0 Credit)
Melissa Pashigian
Division: Social Science
This course will examine how power in everyday life shapes reproductive behavior and how reproduction is culturally constructed. Through an examination of materials from different cultures, this course will look at how often competing interests within households, communities, states and institutions (at both the local and global levels) influence reproduction in society. We will explore the political economy of reproduction cross-culturally, how power and politics shape gendered reproductive behavior and how it is interpreted and used differently by persons, communities and institutions. Topics covered include but are not limited to the politics of family planning, mothering/parenting, abortion, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, fetal testing and biology and social policy in cross-cultural comparison. Prerequisite: ANTH 8102 (or ANTH H103) recommended
(Offered: Fall 2024)
ANTH B317 DISEASE AND HUMAN EVOLUTION (1.0 Credit)
Maja Šešelj
Pathogens and humans have been having an "evolutionary arms race" since the beginning of our species. In this course, we will examine how natural selection and other evolutionary forces shape our susceptibility to disease, and how we have adapted to resist disease. We will also address how concepts of Darwinian medicine impact our understanding of how people might be treated most effectively. We will focus on infectious and chronic diseases, and the anthropogenic effects contributing to the observed distribution of various diseases and illnesses, such as climate change and racism, and their interactions.
ANTH B331 MEDICAL ANTHRO SEMINAR: CRITICAL THINKING FOR CRITICAL TIMES (1.0 Credit)
Melissa Pashigian
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Advanced Medical Anthropology: Critical Thinking for Critical Times explores theoretical and applied frameworks used in medical anthropology to tackle pressing problems in our world today. Coupled with topical subjects and ethnographic examples, this seminar will enable students to delve deeply into sub-specialization areas in the field of medical anthropology, including: global health inequalities, cross-border disease transmission, genomics, science and technology studies, ethnomedicine, cross-cultural psychiatry/psychology, cross-cultural bioethics, and ecological approaches to studying health and behavior, among others. No prior experience in medical anthropology is required. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and higher.
Biology Courses
BIOL B201 GENETICS (1.0 Credit)
Tamara Davis
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course focuses on the principles of genetics, including classical genetics, population genetics and molecular genetics. Topics to be covered include the genetic and molecular nature of mutations and phenotypes, genetic mapping and gene identification, chromosome abnormalities, developmental genetics, genome editing and epigenetics. Examples of genetic analyses are drawn from a variety of organisms including Drosophila, C. elegans, mice and humans. Lecture three hours a week. Prerequisite: BIOL B110 and CHEM B104.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
BIOL B212 NUTRITIONAL PHYSIOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Nutritional physiology covers the biochemical basis of energy metabolism, physiological processes in digestion and uptake, structure and function of the digestive tract, and the biochemical transformation of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the body. The course also addresses vitamins, mechanisms of organ- to organism-wide control, the gut microbiome, and major events in nutritional research, as well as topics on politics and sociocultural influences of agricultural practices, food production, its distribution, and factors in its consumption. The emphasis is on expanding the students' understanding of physiology, primarily through a human-focused approach. Prerequisite: completion of Biol 110 or 111.
BIOL B215 BIOSTATISTICS WITH R (1.0 Credit)
Seba De Bona
Division: Natural Science; Quantitative
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introductory course in statistical analysis focusing on biological data. This course is structured to develop students' understanding of statistics and probability and when to apply different quantitative methods. The lab component focuses on how to implement those methods using the R statistics environment. Topics include summary statistics, distributions, randomization, replication, and probability. The course is geared around problem sets, lab reports, and interactive learning. No prior experience with programming is required. Suggested Preparation: BIOL B110 or B111 is highly recommended. Students who have taken PSYC B205/H200 or SOCL B265 are not eligible to take this course.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
BIOL B216 GENOMICS (1.0 Credit)
Barbara Bitarello
Division: Does not satisfy Haverford QU; Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introduction to the study of genomes and genomic data. This course will examine the history of this exciting field, the types of biological questions that can be answered using large biological data sets and complete genome sequences as well as the techniques and technologies that make such studies possible. Topics include genome organization and evolution, comparative genomics, and analysis of transcriptomes, with a focus on animal genomics and humans in particular. Prerequisite: One semester of BIOL 110. BIOL 201 highly recommended.
BIOL B255 MICROBIOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Monica Chander
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
Invisible to the naked eye, microbes occupy every niche on the planet. This course will examine how microbes have become successful colonizers; review aspects of interactions between microbes, humans and the environment; and explore practical uses of microbes in industry, medicine and environmental management. The course will combine lecture, discussion of primary literature and student presentations. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisites: BIOL 110 and CHEM B104.
(Offered: Spring 2025)
BIOL B271 DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Gregory Davis
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introduction to embryology and the concepts of developmental biology. Concepts are illustrated by analyzing the experimental observations that support them. Topics include gametogenesis and fertilization, morphogenesis, cell fate specification and differentiation, pattern formation, regulation of gene expression, neural development, and developmental plasticity. The laboratory focuses on observations and experiments on living embryos. Lecture three hours, laboratory three scheduled hours a week; some weeks require additional hours outside of the regularly scheduled lab. Prerequisite: one semester of BIOL 110-111 or permission of instructor.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
BIOL B352 IMMUNOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Adam Williamson
An introduction to immunology with a focus on the dynamic network of molecules and cells underlying the vertebrate immune response. This problem-based workshop course uses primary research articles and a curiosity-driven, open-ended laboratory research project to make sense of complicated biology and empower each student to build a big-picture view of this fast-moving, interdisciplinary field. Key themes include: immune cell specification and development; molecular recognition and immune cell signaling; generation of immunological memory; and cancer immunotherapies. Learning strategies include problem solving, small group discussion, and critical analysis of the primary literature. Three hours of class meetings and three hours of lab per week. Prerequisites: BIOL B110 and any 200-level course in Biology.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Chemistry Courses
CHEM B242 BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY (1.0 Credit)
Ashlee Plummer-Medeiros
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
The structure, chemistry and function of amino acids, proteins, lipids, polysaccharides and nucleic acids; enzyme kinetics; metabolic relationships of carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, and the control of various pathways. Lecture three hours a week. Prerequisite: CHEM B212 or CHEM H222.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Data Science Courses
DSCI B314 ADVANCED DATA SCIENCE:REGRESSION & MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS (1.0 Credit)
Marc Schulz
This course is designed to improve your data science skills by introducing you to advanced statistical techniques that have become increasingly important in psychology and a variety of fields. The focus will be on understanding the advantages and limitations of regression approaches and multivariate analytic techniques that permit simultaneous prediction of multiple outcomes. Topics covered will include basic regression approaches, advanced regression strategies, structural equation modeling, factor analysis, measurement models, path modeling, modeling of longitudinal data sets, multilevel modeling approaches and growth curve modeling. Students will gain familiarity with these techniques by working with actual data sets. The last part of each class will be reserved for lab time to apply lessons from class to an assignment due the following week. Students are welcome to stay beyond the noon ending time to complete the assignment. Prerequisites: Required: PSYC Research Methods and Statistics 205 (BMC), Psych 200 (HC) Experimental Methods and Statistics, or BIOL B215 Experimental Design and Statistics. Students with good statistical preparation in math or other disciplines and some knowledge of core methods used in social science or health-related research should consult with the instructor to gain permission to take the class.This course was formerly numbered PSYC B314; students who previously completed PSYC B314 may not repeat this course.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Economics Courses
ECON B214 PUBLIC FINANCE (1.0 Credit)
Prithvijit Mukherjee
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Analysis of government’s role in resource allocation, emphasizing effects of tax and expenditure programs on income distribution and economic efficiency. Topics include sources of inefficiency in markets and possible government responses; federal budget composition; social insurance and antipoverty programs; U.S. tax structure and incidence. Prerequisites: ECON B105.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
History Courses
HIST B337 TOPICS IN AFRICAN HISTORY (1.0 Credit)
Kalala Ngalamulume
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This is a topics course. Topics vary.
Health Studies Courses
HLTH B115 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Arnav Bhattacharya
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
The multidisciplinary foundation for the health studies minor. Students will be introduced to theories and methods from the life sciences, social sciences, and humanities and will learn to apply them to problems of health and illness. Topics include epidemiological, public health, and biomedical perspectives on health and disease; social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of health; globalization of health issues; cultural representations of illness; health inequalities, social justice, and health as a human right.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
HLTH B398 SENIOR SEMINAR HEALTH STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Adam Williamson
Required culminating seminar, which integrates the three tracks of the Health Studies minor. Students share and critically assess their own and fellow students’ ongoing work to communicate across disciplines and understand the value and interconnectedness of different disciplinary approaches. Students present and defend their semester-long collaborative projects at the end of the course.
(Offered: Spring 2025)
Italian and Italian Studies Courses
ITAL B303 BOCCACCIO, THE PLAGUE, AND EPIDEMIC ILLNESS: LITERATURE AND MEDICINE (1.0 Credit)
Roberta Ricci
Division: Humanities
What are the responses to human suffering during outbreaks of epidemic illness? How can literature be a valuable tool for plague prevention in time of pestilence? This class explores crucial questions on how narrative works in medical contexts, with a focus on the Decameron and the black plague of 1348. Giovanni Boccaccio is the first writer to unite the literary topos of narration during a life-threatening situation with an historical epidemic context in Medieval Italy. How does he tell his stories in time of illness and death? How do writers and other storytellers respond to dominant versions of health and medicine? Taught in Italian.
(Offered: Spring 2025)
Political Science Courses
POLS B310 COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY (1.0 Credit)
Carol Hager
Division: Social Science
A comparison of policy processes and outcomes across space and time. Focusing on particular issues such as health care, domestic security, water and land use, we identify institutional, historical, and cultural factors that shape policies. We also examine the growing importance of international-level policy making and the interplay between international and domestic pressures on policy makers. Writing attentive. Prerequisite: One course in Political Science or public policy.
Psychology Courses
PSYC B209 CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Sarah Conlin
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines the experience, origins and consequences of psychological difficulties and problems. Among the questions we will explore are: What do we mean by abnormal behavior or psychopathology? What are the strengths and limitations of the ways in which psychopathology is assessed and classified? What are the major forms of psychopathology? How do psychologists study and treat psychopathology? How is psychopathology experienced by individuals? What causes psychological difficulties and what are their consequences? How do we integrate social, biological and psychological perspectives on the causes of psychopathology? Do psychological treatments (therapies) work? How do we study the effectiveness of psychology treatments? Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology (PSYC B105 or H100). Please note that this course was previously known as “Abnormal Psychology” and has now been renamed “Clinical Psychology" and can not be repeated for credit.
(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
PSYC B231 HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Magdalena Leszko
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will provide an overview of the field of health psychology using lecture, exams, videos, assignments, and an article critique. We will examine the current definition of health psychology, as well as the theories and research behind many areas in health psychology (both historical and contemporary). The course will focus on specific health and social psychological theories, empirical research, and applying the theory and research to real world situations. Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology (PSYC B105) or Foundations of Psychology (PSYC H100). Students may take either this course or HLTH/PSYC H245 not both.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
PSYC B316 ADVANCED TOPICS IN NEUROSCIENCE (1.0 Credit)
This is a topics course. Topics content varies..Prerequisite: PSYC B218 or BIOL B202 or PSYC H217. PSYC 205 is strongly recommended.
PSYC B327 ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT (1.0 Credit)
Dustin Albert
Is adolescence a biologically distinct stage of life, or a social “holding ground” invented by modern culture for young people unready or unwilling to assume the responsibilities of adulthood? Are adolescents destined to make risky decisions because of their underdeveloped brains? At what age should they be held accountable as adults in a court of law? This course will explore these and other questions about the biological, social, and legal forces that define the boundaries and shape the experience of adolescents growing up in the modern world. Students will learn about: (1) historical changes in understanding and treatment of adolescents; (2) puberty-related biological changes marking the beginning of adolescence; (3) brain, behavioral, cognitive, and social development during adolescence; and (4) contemporary debates regarding age of adult maturity, and their implications for law and policy. Prerequisite: PSYC B206 (Developmental Psychology) or PSYC B211 (Lifespan Development) or permission or instructor. PSYC B205 is recommended.
PSYC B331 HEALTH BEHAVIOR AND CONTEXT (1.0 Credit)
Laurel Peterson
This seminar will be devoted to a discussion of theory and research in health psychology. We will investigate both historical and contemporary perspectives on the psychology of wellness and illness. We will begin with a consideration of how psychosocial forces influence health cognitions, behaviors, and physiological processes. The second half of the course will focus on contextual factors, interventions, and emerging topics in research. We will debate the question of whether/how psychological forces influence health outcomes. Prerequisite: PSYC B105 and PSYC B231 or PSYC B208, or by permission of the instructor.
PSYC B353 ADVANCED TOPICS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Sarah Conlin
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course provides an in-depth examination of research and theory in a particular area of clinical psychology. Topics will vary from year to year.
(Offered: Fall 2024)
Sociology Courses
SOCL B317 COMPARATIVE SOCIAL POLICY: CUBA, CHINA, US, SCANDINAVIA (1.0 Credit)
David Karen
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will examine different countries' policy choices to address different societal challenges. Four societal types - socialist (Cuba), post-socialist (China), capitalist (US), and social-democratic (Scandinavia) - will be studies to help us understand how these different kinds of societies conceive of social problems and propose and implement attempted solutions. We will examine particular problems/solutions in four domains: health/sports; education; environment; technological development. As we explore these domains, we will attend to methodological issues involved in making historical and institutional comparisons