Course Description: This course provides an overview of the experiences of African Americans with medicine. Beginning with the eighteenth century, the course will cover the ways the medical community viewed African-Americans, and how medical science contributed to modern concepts of race. We will discuss the experimentation on African-American women during the early years of gynecology, as well as eugenics.The course will conclude with the 21st century, including the controversies over racial difference in treating pain.
Trigger Warnings: We discuss medical and scientific racism in this course. The course materials will, at times, include discussions of physical and sexual violence, as well as slavery, ableism, and disordered eating. Please speak to me if you need a list of specific trigger warnings. I also discourage repeating racial slurs that may appear in the text. Please avoid using the terms in discussion as unnecessarily repeating them may create a hostile learning environment for others.
Learning Objectives
- Students will understand the ways in which early medical science contributed to modern notions of race.
- Students will explore the history of medical experimentation on African Americans and discuss the history of medical ethics.
- Students will learn to connect past events to current discussions around race and medicine.
Core Readings
There are 6 required readings for this class, along with some chapters and essays that are up on 2U and/or linked via this syllabus. The course books are also available as e-books through the Simmons Library reserves.
Deirdre Cooper Owens, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of Modern Gynaecology (University of Georgia Press)
Henrietta A Washington, Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation from the Colonial Period and Beyond (Anchor)
Gretchen Long, Doctoring Freedom (University of North Carolina Press)
Alondro Nelson, Body + Soul (University of Minnesota Press)
Samuel Kelton Roberts, Infectious Fear (University of North Carolina Press)
Stephanie Hunt-Kennedy, Between Fitness and Death (Illinois)
Core Assignments
Engagement (30%): Students are expected to come prepared each week, with the reading completed. Participation will include substantive contributions to class discussions. Engagement includes contributions to the asynchronous discussions, as well as live Zoom sessions, though students who need to primarily or exclusively participate asynchronously will not be penalized.
Discussion Leadership (30%): Each week, we will have a class discussion that is focused on some key questions raised by the reading. Students will sign up to help lead the discussion. Students must sign up for at least two turns leading discussion. I will lead week 1. There will be a Google doc in the 2U platform for you to sign up for your turns. First come, first served. Discussion leaders will add their questions to the forum, and will be responsible for encouraging participation and adding responses to their classmates.
Journals (20%): Students will keep a reading journal on their reactions to the reading. Journals should be kept in a Word or Google doc, and will be due once a month. Please note that there should be dated, weekly entries. Upload the journal through the appropriate link on 2U.
Final Paper (20%): Students will have a paper on a topic of their choosing related to the course. Papers should be 5-7 pages in length, in a standard 12 pt font and double-spaced. The paper must use peer-reviewed sources or articles that have been assigned within this syllabus. Papers cannot rely exclusively on magazine or newspaper articles, and must have at least 4 quality sources. You may not use blogs or wikipedia. You can use Chicago, APA, or MLA, but all of your sources must be properly cited. Please email your paper topic to me no later than Feb 28th. I am happy to help review a draft if you get it to me no later than May 1st.
Course Schedule and Topics
Week 1: Medicine and the Black Body (1-7 Feb)
Readings: On 2U: Starr, Social History of Medicine, Ch. 1; Fett, Ch. 1; Hoberman, Black & Blue, pp 154-160 (top)
Week 2: Medicine and the Plantation (8-14 Feb)
Readings: Washington, Intro; Long, Intro, Chs. 1 & 2; and Fett, Ch. 4 .
Week 3: Race and Early Medical Knowledge/Enlightenment (15-21 Feb)
Readings: Washington, Ch. 3; Long, Chs. 3 & 4; On 2U: Berry, The Price for their Pound of Flesh, Ch. 6; Watch Skin on Netflix if you are able.
Week 4: Race and Reproduction in Early America (22-28 Feb)
Readings: Owens, Intro, Chs. 1-3; On 2U: Berry, The Price for a Pound of Their Flesh, Ch. 1; Zhang, The Surgeon Who Experimented on Slaves
Assignment: Journal 1 is due through the assignment drop box by Sunday at 11 pm.
Week 5: Slavery, Immunology, and Medical Ethics (1-7 Mar)
Readings: On 2U: Wisecup, Walton, DeLancey
Week 6: Racializing Slavery and Disease (8-14 Mar)
Readings: Kelton, Infectious Fear (entire)
Week 7: Black Bodies and the Medical Supergaze (15-21 Mar)
Readings: Owens, Ch. 5; Washington, Chs. 9-10; Long, Chs. 5 & 6
Week 8: Race, Slavery, and Disability (22-28 Mar)
Readings: Hunt-Kennedy, Between Fitness and Death
Week 9: Mental Health (29 Mar – 4 Apr)
Readings: On 2U: Fry, Night Riders in Black History, Chs. 1 & 6; Gonaver, That Particular Institution, Chs. 1 & 4
Assignment: Journal 2 is due by Sunday at 11 pm.
Week 10: Organizing for Health (5-11 Apr)
Readings: Nelson, Body + Soul (entire)
Week 11: Race, Prison, and the HIV Crisis (12-18 Apr)
Readings: Washington, Chs. 13; On 2U: Tweedy, Black Man in a White Coat, Ch. 7.
Week 12: Reproduction and Eugenics (19-25 Apr)
Readings: Washington, Chs. 8 & 11; Link: Anne Simmons,
“The Quiet Crisis Among African-American Women,” LA Times (26 Oct 2017).
Week 13: Henrietta Lacks (26 Apr – 2 May)
Readings: Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (book), Debra’s Voice, Part 1, & the Aftermath
Watching: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (movie)
Week 14: A Crisis of Pain (3-9 May)
Readings: Pain and Bias, AAMC; Zhang, The Long History of Discrimination in Pain
Medicine; Forliti, “Investigation Says Prince was Isolated, Addicted, and in Pain.”
Week 15: COVID (10-16 May)
Readings: Frueh, “COVID-19 and Black Communities;” Pritle, “Racial Capitalism;”
Gravlee, “Racism, Not Genetics, Explains Why Black Americans Are Dying of COVID;” Death of Dr. Moore; Racial Bias in Pulse Oximeters
Week 16: Writing (17 & 18 May)
No readings. Focus on finishing your final paper.
Assignment: Journal 3 is due through the drop box for Journal 3 by 11 pm on May 16th. The final paper is due by 11 pm on May 18.
This class does not have a final exam.
Trigger Warnings: We discuss medical and scientific racism in this course. The course materials will, at times, include discussions of physical and sexual violence, as well as slavery, ableism, and disordered eating. Please speak to me if you need a list of specific trigger warnings. I also discourage repeating racial slurs that may appear in the text. Please avoid using the terms in discussion as unnecessarily repeating them may create a hostile learning environment for others.
Learning Objectives
- Students will understand the ways in which early medical science contributed to modern notions of race.
- Students will explore the history of medical experimentation on African Americans and discuss the history of medical ethics.
- Students will learn to connect past events to current discussions around race and medicine.
Core Readings
There are 6 required readings for this class, along with some chapters and essays that are up on 2U and/or linked via this syllabus. The course books are also available as e-books through the Simmons Library reserves.
Deirdre Cooper Owens, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of Modern Gynaecology (University of Georgia Press)
Henrietta A Washington, Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation from the Colonial Period and Beyond (Anchor)
Gretchen Long, Doctoring Freedom (University of North Carolina Press)
Alondro Nelson, Body + Soul (University of Minnesota Press)
Samuel Kelton Roberts, Infectious Fear (University of North Carolina Press)
Stephanie Hunt-Kennedy, Between Fitness and Death (Illinois)
Core Assignments
Engagement (30%): Students are expected to come prepared each week, with the reading completed. Participation will include substantive contributions to class discussions. Engagement includes contributions to the asynchronous discussions, as well as live Zoom sessions, though students who need to primarily or exclusively participate asynchronously will not be penalized.
Discussion Leadership (30%): Each week, we will have a class discussion that is focused on some key questions raised by the reading. Students will sign up to help lead the discussion. Students must sign up for at least two turns leading discussion. I will lead week 1. There will be a Google doc in the 2U platform for you to sign up for your turns. First come, first served. Discussion leaders will add their questions to the forum, and will be responsible for encouraging participation and adding responses to their classmates.
Journals (20%): Students will keep a reading journal on their reactions to the reading. Journals should be kept in a Word or Google doc, and will be due once a month. Please note that there should be dated, weekly entries. Upload the journal through the appropriate link on 2U.
Final Paper (20%): Students will have a paper on a topic of their choosing related to the course. Papers should be 5-7 pages in length, in a standard 12 pt font and double-spaced. The paper must use peer-reviewed sources or articles that have been assigned within this syllabus. Papers cannot rely exclusively on magazine or newspaper articles, and must have at least 4 quality sources. You may not use blogs or wikipedia. You can use Chicago, APA, or MLA, but all of your sources must be properly cited. Please email your paper topic to me no later than Feb 28th. I am happy to help review a draft if you get it to me no later than May 1st.
Course Schedule and Topics
Week 1: Medicine and the Black Body (1-7 Feb)
Readings: On 2U: Starr, Social History of Medicine, Ch. 1; Fett, Ch. 1; Hoberman, Black & Blue, pp 154-160 (top)
Week 2: Medicine and the Plantation (8-14 Feb)
Readings: Washington, Intro; Long, Intro, Chs. 1 & 2; and Fett, Ch. 4 .
Week 3: Race and Early Medical Knowledge/Enlightenment (15-21 Feb)
Readings: Washington, Ch. 3; Long, Chs. 3 & 4; On 2U: Berry, The Price for their Pound of Flesh, Ch. 6; Watch Skin on Netflix if you are able.
Week 4: Race and Reproduction in Early America (22-28 Feb)
Readings: Owens, Intro, Chs. 1-3; On 2U: Berry, The Price for a Pound of Their Flesh, Ch. 1; Zhang, The Surgeon Who Experimented on Slaves
Assignment: Journal 1 is due through the assignment drop box by Sunday at 11 pm.
Week 5: Slavery, Immunology, and Medical Ethics (1-7 Mar)
Readings: On 2U: Wisecup, Walton, DeLancey
Week 6: Racializing Slavery and Disease (8-14 Mar)
Readings: Kelton, Infectious Fear (entire)
Week 7: Black Bodies and the Medical Supergaze (15-21 Mar)
Readings: Owens, Ch. 5; Washington, Chs. 9-10; Long, Chs. 5 & 6
Week 8: Race, Slavery, and Disability (22-28 Mar)
Readings: Hunt-Kennedy, Between Fitness and Death
Week 9: Mental Health (29 Mar – 4 Apr)
Readings: On 2U: Fry, Night Riders in Black History, Chs. 1 & 6; Gonaver, That Particular Institution, Chs. 1 & 4
Assignment: Journal 2 is due by Sunday at 11 pm.
Week 10: Organizing for Health (5-11 Apr)
Readings: Nelson, Body + Soul (entire)
Week 11: Race, Prison, and the HIV Crisis (12-18 Apr)
Readings: Washington, Chs. 13; On 2U: Tweedy, Black Man in a White Coat, Ch. 7.
Week 12: Reproduction and Eugenics (19-25 Apr)
Readings: Washington, Chs. 8 & 11; Link: Anne Simmons,
“The Quiet Crisis Among African-American Women,” LA Times (26 Oct 2017).
Week 13: Henrietta Lacks (26 Apr – 2 May)
Readings: Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (book), Debra’s Voice, Part 1, & the Aftermath
Watching: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (movie)
Week 14: A Crisis of Pain (3-9 May)
Readings: Pain and Bias, AAMC; Zhang, The Long History of Discrimination in Pain Medicine; Forliti, “Investigation Says Prince was Isolated, Addicted, and in Pain.”
Week 15: COVID (10-16 May)
Readings: Frueh, “COVID-19 and Black Communities;” Pritle, “Racial Capitalism;”
Gravlee, “Racism, Not Genetics, Explains Why Black Americans Are Dying of COVID;” Death of Dr. Moore; Racial Bias in Pulse Oximeters
Week 16: Writing (17 & 18 May)
No readings. Focus on finishing your final paper.
Assignment: Journal 3 is due through the drop box for Journal 3 by 11 pm on May 16th. The final paper is due by 11 pm on May 18.
This class does not have a final exam.
