University Bulletin (2018-2019)

HSSP 89a Internship and Analysis
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Prerequisites: Open only to HSSP majors who have pursued a health-related internship with the approval of the Internship Instructor.
This course for declared HSSP majors combines: 1) a supervised health-related internship, and 2) a weekly, classroom-based discussion during the Internship Seminar. The internship placement must be clearly health-related and take place within a healthcare organization whose work involves science (e.g., natural sciences and medicine), society (e.g., the social sciences and public health), and/or policy (e.g., law, politics, economics, and organizations). The internship must be arranged in consultation with and approved in writing by the HSSP Internship Instructor BEFORE the internship begins. Further details available at: http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/hssp/experiential.html. Students are required to attend a weekly 1.5 hour section, keep a journal, write several short papers, and prepare several presentations - all of which requires reflection on and systematic analysis of the internship experience. Usually two sections are offered in the fall semester and one section is offered in the spring semester.
Staff

HSSP 92a Internship and Analysis
Staff

HSSP 98a Independent Research in Health: Science, Society, and Policy
Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty or faculty sponsor approved by HSSP chair, students conduct an intensive laboratory- or field-based project that culminates in a twenty- to twenty-five-page research paper. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 98b Independent Research in Health: Science, Society, and Policy
Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty or faculty sponsor approved by HSSP chair, students conduct an intensive laboratory- or field-based project that culminates in a twenty- to twenty-five-page research paper. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 99d Senior Research
Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty, students conduct a year-long, original, health-related research project (laboratory- or field-based) and write a thesis.
Staff

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
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Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.
Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

HSSP 102a Introduction to Global Health
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A primer on major issues in health care in developing nations. Topics include the natural history of disease and levels of prevention; epidemiological transitions; health disparities; and determinants of health including culture, social context, and behavior. Also covers: infectious and chronic disease incidence and prevalence; the role of nutrition, education, reproductive trends, and poverty; demographic transition including aging and urbanization; the structure and financing of health systems; and the globalization of health. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 104b Health Economics
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Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Emphasizes the concepts and tools of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, the demand for health services, insurance and risk, managed care, provider reimbursement, national health insurance, and an overview of health care systems in other countries. Usually offered every second year.
Dominic Hodgkin

HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
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Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.
Overview of the principles of management within health care, and how public policy decisions can influence the choices of individual healthcare organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving health care quality, delivering patient satisfaction, and containing costs. Usually offered every year.
Darren Zinner

HSSP 107b Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs and Devices
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Prerequisite: HS 104b or permission of the instructor. Priority given to HSSP majors and minors.
An overview of the role of medical technology in the U.S. health care system, with a focus on the impact of prescription drugs on the health care system, their promise for the future, and inherent risks. Usually offered every year.
Cindy Thomas

HSSP 110a Integrative Seminar on Health
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Prerequisite: Senior status in the HSSP major.
The capstone course is required for all HSSP seniors and is designed to integrate their academic coursework and fieldwork/laboratory experiences across a range of health-related disciplines. Section topics vary from semester to semester at the discretion of the instructing faculty member. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

HSSP 112b Perspectives on Child Health and Well-Being
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Open only to juniors and seniors.
This is a survey course on child well-being in the United States. It is divided into four sections: child development, child and family context, environment, and programs and services. We will focus on early childhood and school-age child issues – with a complementary understanding of adolescence and family issues. The course will consider theoretical perspectives, the science of child development and outcomes, methods for understanding and tackling child public health issues and finally the services and programs available – and needed – for optimal child health. We will primarily use three frames: social determinants of health, social ecological model, and life course perspective. They consider race, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, immigration status, education and other important issues in the larger context of child public health. Usually offered every year.
Lindsay Rosenfeld

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
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An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 115b Perspectives on Behavioral Health: Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental Health
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A survey course which focuses on the science and biological basis of substance use and mental disorders, and linkages between behavioral health and general health. Consequences of behavioral health on society are discussed. Policy responses and the treatment system are assessed for their effectiveness. Usually offered every year.
Sharon Reif

HSSP 118b Viewing Medicine and Health Policy Through the Lens of Literature
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Literature – fiction, memoir, poetry and drama – offers a powerful lens for studying key health policy issues. By harnessing the power of authors’ imaginations, insights and compelling stories, students can gain deeper insight into patient centered care, ethics in research, access to healthcare, obesity and hunger, role of the pharmaceutical and tobacco, aging policy, disability, and clinicians’ roles and training. Usually offered every third year.
Deborah Garnick

HSSP 128a Disability Policy
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Focuses on exploring the principles and provisions of disability service programs in the United States and on developing an understanding of the complexities surrounding the financial, ethical, and legal issues related to current disability policies and the consequences of these policies. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 135a Special Topics in Public Health: U.S. History and Policy
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Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
With an interdisciplinary focus, this course examines the complex history of efforts in the U.S. to improve our population's health. Key topics include promoting sanitation / environmental health, managing chronic / infectious diseases, and enhancing emergency preparedness as well as the role of law / government. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

HSSP 142a Health Activism
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Examines the history of health activism in the U.S. over the past 125 years, from late 19th century debates over compulsory vaccination to contemporary public health campaigns around gang violence and incarceration. Usually offered every third year.
Wangui Muigai

HSSP 148b The Policy Context of Families of Children with Disabilities
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Examines the role of families in raising children with disabilities, how families have influenced the development of policies/programs for children with disabilities, and how they interact with these policies/programs to improve their children's well-being and outcomes. Usually offered every year.
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
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In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.
Steve Gulley

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
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Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.
Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

BIOL 14a Genetics and Genomics
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Studies fundamentals of genetics, genomics, molecular biology and biological problem-solving. Topics include heredity, meiosis, molecular basis of phenotypic variations in individuals and populations, as well as an introduction to the tools and techniques used by past and current researchers in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every semester.
Rachel Woodruff

BIOL 15b Cells and Organisms
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Introduces contemporary biology with an emphasis on cells, organs, and organ systems. Topics include the forms and functions of macromolecules, organelles, and cells, the integration of cells into tissues, and the physiology of fundamental life processes. The course is intended to prepare students to understand the biology of everyday life, and to provide a strong foundation for those who continue to study the life sciences. Usually offered every semester.
Neil Simister and Maria Miara

BIOL 16a Evolution and Biodiversity
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"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution," Dobzhansky said famously. Evolution is the unifying theory of biology because it explains both the unity and diversity of life. This course examines processes and patterns of evolution, including the sources and fate of variation, natural selection and genetic drift, species and speciation, biogeography, and the history and diversity of life on Earth. We end with a discussion of human evolution and the impact of humans on the planet. Usually offered every fall.
James Morris

BIOL 42a Physiology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b. CHEM 25a and b are recommended.
Introduces basic physiological principles. Topics include the physiology of human nervous and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, water and electrolyte regulation, digestion and absorption, the musculoskeletal system, reproduction, and immunology. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SOC 189a Sociology of Body and Health
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Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual experiences and opportunities for agency and resistance. Usually offered every year.
Sara Shostak

SOC 191a Health, Community, and Society
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This course offers a 2-credit optional practicum.
An exploration into interrelationships among society, health, and disease, emphasizing the social causes and experience of illness. Usually offered every year.
Sara Shostak or Siri Suh

HS 104b American Health Care
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Examines and critically analyzes the United States healthcare system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.
Stuart Altman

LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
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Not recommended for freshmen.
Focuses on individual rights, highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

HSSP 110a Integrative Seminar on Health
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Prerequisite: Senior status in the HSSP major.
The capstone course is required for all HSSP seniors and is designed to integrate their academic coursework and fieldwork/laboratory experiences across a range of health-related disciplines. Section topics vary from semester to semester at the discretion of the instructing faculty member. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

ANTH 116a Human Osteology
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Anthropology majors have priority for enrollment. Students wishing to enroll during early registration should waitlist themselves.
Skeletal anatomy and application of forensic techniques to archaeological problems. Hands-on laboratory sessions focus on methods of estimating age at the time of death, determining sex, assessing skeletal variability, detecting instances of bone remodeling, and identifying cultural and natural modifications to bony tissue. Case studies exemplify bioarchaeological approaches. Usually offered every second year.
Javier Urcid

BCHM 88b Introductory Biochemistry
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Prerequisite: One year organic chemistry with laboratory, BIOL 14a, and BIOL 15b. Does not meet the requirements for the major in biochemistry.
Topics include protein and nucleic acid structure; metabolism of biologically important compounds; formation and utilization of "energy-rich" compounds; introduction to enzyme mechanism; comparison of basic biochemical and chemical processes; and biochemical basis of disease. Usually offered every year.
Emily Westover

BCHM 100a Advanced Introductory Biochemistry
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Prerequisite: One year of organic chemistry with laboratory.
Topics include protein and nucleic acid structure; chemical basis of enzyme-catalyzed reaction mechanisms and enzyme kinetics; the chemical logic of metabolic pathways, including glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation; and regulation of enzymatic pathways through allosteric control. Usually offered every year in multiple sections.
Emily Westover

BIBC 126b Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
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Prerequisite: BCHM 88b or BCHM 100a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 126b in prior years.
Explores biochemical changes—in proteins, enzymes and metabolic pathways—that underlie human diseases. Examines molecular mechanisms for a variety of diseases, with a particular focus on molecular mechanisms for therapies. Draws heavily on current literature. Usually offered every second year.
Emily Westover

BIOL 14a Genetics and Genomics
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Studies fundamentals of genetics, genomics, molecular biology and biological problem-solving. Topics include heredity, meiosis, molecular basis of phenotypic variations in individuals and populations, as well as an introduction to the tools and techniques used by past and current researchers in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every semester.
Rachel Woodruff

BIOL 15b Cells and Organisms
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Introduces contemporary biology with an emphasis on cells, organs, and organ systems. Topics include the forms and functions of macromolecules, organelles, and cells, the integration of cells into tissues, and the physiology of fundamental life processes. The course is intended to prepare students to understand the biology of everyday life, and to provide a strong foundation for those who continue to study the life sciences. Usually offered every semester.
Neil Simister and Maria Miara

BIOL 16a Evolution and Biodiversity
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"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution," Dobzhansky said famously. Evolution is the unifying theory of biology because it explains both the unity and diversity of life. This course examines processes and patterns of evolution, including the sources and fate of variation, natural selection and genetic drift, species and speciation, biogeography, and the history and diversity of life on Earth. We end with a discussion of human evolution and the impact of humans on the planet. Usually offered every fall.
James Morris

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory
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Prerequisite: BIOL 14a, BIOL 18b and sophomore standing. Yields full-course credit. Laboratory fee: $150 per semester. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.
Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.
Melissa Kosinski-Collins

BIOL 18b General Biology Laboratory
Prerequisite: BIOL 15b and sophomore standing. Yields half-course credit. Laboratory fee: $150 per semester. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.
Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.
Melissa Kosinski-Collins

BIOL 42a Physiology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b. CHEM 25a and b are recommended.
Introduces basic physiological principles. Topics include the physiology of human nervous and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, water and electrolyte regulation, digestion and absorption, the musculoskeletal system, reproduction, and immunology. Usually offered every year.
Staff

BIOL 42b Human Physiology Lab
Prerequisite: BIOL 42a. BIOL 42b may be taken concurrently with BIOL 42a. Yields half-course credit.
Students will be introduced to laboratory techniques used to study human physiology including electromyography, electrycardiography, exhaled gas analysis, and spirometry. Students will set up equipment, make predictions, record results and analyze how their observations reveal physiological principles. Usually offered every year.
Maria Miara

BIOL 43b Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
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Prerequisite: BIOL 15b.
Focuses broadly on vertebrate anatomy. The gross and microscopic morphology of each organ system is considered in depth. Comparative anatomy, embryology, and relationships between structure and function are explored. Lectures, laboratory dissections, and clinical cases are used to illustrate the structure and function of vertebrates, with an emphasis on humans. Usually offered every spring.
James Morris

BIOL 43bj Comparative Anatomy
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Prerequisite: BIOL 15b.
Drawing from comparative anatomy and functional morphology, this course is designed to provide an overview of the form and function of organisms and provide a base on which to build further study organismal biology. Students will be introduced to the basics of the development, cellular make-up, evolution and function of the anatomy of many eukaryotes including vertebrates, fungi and plants anatomy. While the focus will be to examine these topics at the level of organs, organ systems and whole organisms, connections will be made to the molecular and cellular levels of organization. It is expected that students who pass this course will understand all concepts such that they may integrate them with each other and apply them to novel situations. Laboratory dissections, an end-of-term oral presentation and short answer tests will aid in this goal. Offered as part of JBS program.
Maria Miara

BIOL 44a The Biology of Human Sports and Exercise
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Prerequisite: BIOL 42a or BIOL 43b. BIOL 42a or 43b may be taken concurrently.
Examines the physiology and anatomy behind exercise science looking specifically at how the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems respond to physical activity. We will consider how the body reacts differently depending on activity type, environment and age. Usually offered every third year.
Maria Miara

BIOL 46aj Biomechanics
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Prerequisites: BIOL 15b and BIOL 16a or BIOL 23a.
Introduces biomechanics at all scales and within a variety of taxonomic groups. Students will explore fluid and solid mechanics applying their knowledge to understand how physical properties impact our day-to-day lives. Offered as part of JBS program.
Maria Miara

BIOL 55b Diet and Health
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Prerequisite: BIOL 15b must be successfully completed prior to taking BIOL 55b.
Examines current evidence about the role of nutrition in human health and diseases, ranging from cardiovascular disease to diabetes. We also examine how specific nutrients – proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water – influence our well-being. We seek optimal, planet-friendly food choices to support healthy lives, as well as understanding the role of nutrigenomics and microbiota. Usually offered every second year.
Elaine Lai

BIOL 125a Immunology
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Prerequisites: BIOL14a and BIOL 15b. CHEM 25a is recommended. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 70a in prior years.
Topics include properties and functions of cells involved in innate and adaptive immunity; genes, structure and function of immunoglobulins, B cell receptors and T cell receptors; lymphocyte differentiation; genetic regulation; MHC restriction; cell interactions and signaling; pathogen immunity (bacteria, viruses) and vaccines; tolerance and autoimmunity. Usually offered year.
Joan Press

BIOL 128a Human Genetics
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.
Survey of topics, including: overview of the human genome; variation; mutation and polymorphism; reproductive genetics; single-gene inheritance and complexities thereof; multifactorial conditions;risk assessment including Bayesian analysis; gene mapping including linkage analysis and genome wide association studies (GWAS); molecular methodology in genetics and genomics; cytogenetics; hemoglobinopathies; population genetics; cancer genetics; genetics of development;biochemistry of selected genetic diseases; treatment including pharmacogenetics and gene therapy; ethical considerations in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.
Staff

BIOL 132a General Microbiology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, and CHEM 25a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 71a in prior years.
Topics include the physiology and properties of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms; microbial nutrition, metabolism, growth; bacterial genetics; horizontal gene transfer; microbial pathogenesis; immunity; antibiotics and other means of microbial control. Usually offered every year.
Susan Lovett

BIOL 149b Molecular Pharmacology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 15b and CHEM 25a and b. NBIO 140b strongly recommended.
Covers the essentials of pharmacology and the study of the actions of chemical agents (drugs, toxins, neurotransmitters, and hormones) that interact with living systems. Emphasizes molecular mechanisms of neuropharmacology. Topics include pharmacokinetics, hormone action, autonomic pharmacology, and the psychopharmacology of drugs of abuse and mental disorders. Usually offered every third year.
Leslie Griffith

BIOL 153aj Project Lab in Biomimetics / Bioinspiration
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Prerequisites: BIOL 15b and BIOL 16a or BIOL 23a.
Explores how the natural world has been used to inspire designs solving real-world problems, identify a problem themselves, learn techniques to plan and build their own bio-inspired designs and present their products in a clear and accessible manner. Offered as part of JBS program.
Maria Miara

BIOL 154a Environmental Epidemiology: Ticks, Mosquitoes, and Soil Amoebae in the Woods of New England
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Some ticks and mosquitoes in New England are vectors for diseases. We will suit-up and smear-up to collect these creatures. We will also collect Naegleria, amoeba-flagellates in mud. These specimens will be identified morphologically and archived for molecular analysis in Biology 154b. Usually offered every second year.
Lawrence Wangh

BIOL 154b Project Lab: Barcoding and Virtual Barcoding of Species
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Prerequisite: One year of laboratory experience.
We live in an era of the Sixth Extinction because large numbers of species of animals and plants are becoming extinct due to human activities. This course will address these issues through a focus on ticks, mosquitoes, and Naegleria (an amoeba-flagellate that lives in the mud), using technologies invented in the laboratory of Professor Wangh. Usually offered every year.
Lawrence Wangh

BIOL 160b Human Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.
Course deals with hormonal, cellular, and molecular aspects of gametogenesis, fertilization, pregnancy, and birth. Pathological and abnormal variations that occur and the available medical technologies for intervention, correction, and facilitation of these processes are discussed. Usually offered every year.
Judith Jackson

BIOL 172b Growth Control and Cancer
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Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b, and CHEM 25a.
Examines the fundamental rules of behavior of cells in multicellular organisms. Examines the research that has revealed the molecular basis of cancer development, including the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern cell growth, differentiation and survival in normal cells, and how this regulation is disrupted in cancer. Usually offered every second year.
Rachel Woodruff

BISC 2b Genes and the Human Story
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Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.
Correlates findings from a wide variety of genetic sources with anthropological, cultural, historical, and religious information about human origins, human reproduction, infectious diseases, and lineages of human populations. Usually offered every year.
Lawrence Wangh

BISC 5a Pathogens and Human Disease
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Prerequisite: High school chemistry and biology. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.
This course discusses the life cycle, pathogenesis, transmission, and epidemiology of certain organisms (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi) that cause important human diseases. Other topics include emerging diseases, host defense mechanisms, vaccines, and public health concerns. Usually offered every year.
Joan Press

BISC 5b Diseases of the Mind
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Prerequisite: High school chemistry. May not be taken by students who have completed BIOL 15b. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.
An exploration of biology of several protein folding diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS, and mad cow disease and their effect on normal brain function. Examines the medical and ethical challenges of therapies, drug design, and clinical trials on patients afflicted with these disorders. Usually offered every second year.
Melissa Kosinski-Collins

BISC 6bj Environmental Health
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Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.
Introduces the science and tools of environmental health, giving students skills to explore current issues experienced by local communities. Students will become familiar with the environmental health paradigm, the conceptual model of the field, including underlying principles of hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicology, risk assessment, and characterization and interpretation of epidemiological studies. Students produce a publishable environmental health study. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff

CBIO 106b Chemical Biology: Medicinal Enzymology
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Prerequisites: Satisfactory grade in BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, CHEM 25a and 25b, and BCHM 100a or the equivalent.
Introduces students to the conceptual framework and experimental methods in medicinal chemistry. Topics include mechanisms of drug-target interactions, strategies for lead optimization and issues in metabolism, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Readings drawn from textbooks and the original scientific literature. Usually offered every second year.
Lizbeth Hedstrom

NBIO 140b Principles of Neuroscience
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Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, BIOL 15b, one additional BIOL, BCHM, NBIO or NPSY course and one of the following: One year of college-level chemistry with lab, one year of college-level physics with lab, or any math course above 10a,b. AP scores are not accepted to meet the prerequisite. Junior standing recommended.
Examines the fundamental principles of neuroscience. Topics include resting potentials, action potentials, synaptic transmission, sensory systems, motor systems, learning, neural circuits underlying behavior, neurological diseases, and mental illness. Usually offered every year.
Eve Marder

NBIO 145b Systems Neuroscience
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Prerequisite: NBIO 140b.
Explores fundamental questions in circuit-and systems-level neuroscience. We will take a systems-level perspective to explore how the brain supports behavior and cognition. Topics include sensory coding, computation by neural circuits, learning and memory, attention and motor control. Understanding these processes requires insight into cellular and network mechanisms in the brain. We will examine classical literature and recent advances in understanding the underlying circuit and neurophysiological mechanisms. The course emphasizes reading from original papers, exploration of neural circuit simulations, and extensive class discussion. Usually offered every year.
Shantanu Jadhav

NBIO 146a The Neurobiology of Human Disease
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Prerequisite: Any of the following BIOL 100b, BIOL103b, BIOL 105b, BIOL 122a, BIOL 123b, BIOL 128a, NBIO 140b, or NBIO 143b.
A lecture- and literature-based overview of the neurobiological underpinnings of neurological and psychiatric disorders including autism, mental retardation, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other developmental and degenerative disorders. Usually offered every second year.
Sacha Nelson

NPSY 141a Stress, Physiology, and Health
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Prerequisites: NPSY 11b, NBIO 146a, PSYC 38a, or NPSY 199a.
About a third of all diseases in western society are related to stress. The study of psychosocial determinants of health is a growing field, in which biological and psychological research is combined to understand pathways between CNS processes and health. We will study these processes in this course. Usually offered every year.
Staff

NPSY 199a Human Neuropsychology
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Prerequisite: Psych 10a or Math 10a and at least sophomore standing.
Designed as an introduction to human neuropsychology. Topics include cerebral dominance, neuroanatomical mapping, and localization of function, with special reference to language, memory, and related cognitive function. Usually offered every year.
Staff

AAAS 131a African Americans and Health
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Examines African American health experiences from the 17th century to the present, with a focus on the strategies and practices African Americans have employed to improve their health. Explores the historical development of “racial” diseases and inequalities. Topics include: slave health, the black hospital movement, eugenics, midwifery, and the crack and opioid epidemics. Usually offered every second year.
Wangui Muigai

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
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This course offers a 2-credit optional Experiential Learning practicum.
Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.
Sarah Lamb

ANTH 127a Medicine, Body, and Culture
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Examines main areas of inquiry in medical anthropology, including medicine as a sociocultural construct, political and economic dimensions of suffering and health, patients and healers in comparative medical systems, and the medical construction of men's and women's bodies. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Lamb or Anita Hannig

ANTH 140b Critical Perspectives in Global Health
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What value systems and other sociocultural factors underlie global public health policy? How can anthropology shed light on debates about the best ways to improve health outcomes? This course examines issues from malaria to HIV/AIDS, from tobacco cessation to immunization. Usually offered every third year.
Elanah Uretsky

ANTH 142b Global Pandemics: History, Society, and Policy
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Takes a biosocial approach to pandemics like HIV/AIDS, SARS, and Ebola as shaped not simply by biology, but also by culture, economics, politics, and history. Discussion focuses on how gender, sexuality, religion, and folk practices shape pandemic situations. Usually offered every fourth year.
Elanah Uretsky

ANTH 154a Culture and Mental Illness
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Without underestimating the importance of biological causes and treatments, this course challenges the hegemony of bio-medical models in psychiatry by seeking to conceptualize emotional problems and mental illness as historically situated and culturally constructed. Examines how factors related to political circumstances, social institutions, religious belief systems, socio-economic status, and ethnic background participate in shaping forms of distress and the ways they are dealt with in various socio-cultural settings. The course will also consider alternative therapies such as art therapy, community-based treatments, and culturally specific approaches to emotional healing and accommodation. Usually offered every third year.
Ellen Schattschneider

ANTH 164a Medicine and Religion
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Prerequisite: ANTH 1a or equivalent.
Considers the convergence of two cultural spheres that are normally treated as separate: medicine and religion. The course will examine their overlap, such as in healing and dying, as well as points of contention through historical and contemporary global ethnographies. Usually offered every second year.
Anita Hannig

ENG 47b Literature Between Habit and Addiction
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In depictions of addiction, literature imagines ecstatic pleasure, intense suffering, and spiritual revelation. We will explore texts from the 19th century to today, considering how these representations develop and recur. Authors include DeQuincey, Eliot, Wharton, Baldwin, Gaitskill, Parks, and Burroughs. Special one-time offering, spring 2018.
Brenden O'Donnell

ENVS 102aj Field Research and Study Methods: Environmental Health
[ ss ]
Comprises the skills and methods component of the Environmental Health and Justice JBS. Students will be trained in environmental health study design, sampling methodology, field research and equipment techniques, data interpretation, statistical analysis, risk communication and presentation. The course will equip students to design and carry out a semester-long environmental health research study integral to the themes of Environmental Health and Justice JBS. Students produce a publishable environmental health study. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[ ss ]
An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 142a Health Activism
[ ss ]
Examines the history of health activism in the U.S. over the past 125 years, from late 19th century debates over compulsory vaccination to contemporary public health campaigns around gang violence and incarceration. Usually offered every third year.
Wangui Muigai

NEJS 184b Disability in Israeli Literature, Film, and the Arts
[ hum ]
Explores representations of disability within Hebrew and Israeli culture. By focusing on literature, film, dance, and visual art, it pursues various applications of physical, mental, and emotional disability experiences and theories to Zionist, Jewish-Israeli narratives and rhetoric. Usually offered every second year.
Ilana Szobel

PHIL 23b Biomedical Ethics
[ hum ]
An examination of ethical issues that arise in a biomedical context, such as the issues of abortion, euthanasia, eugenics, lying to patients, and the right to health care. The relevance of ethical theory to such issues will be considered. Usually offered every second year.
Eli Hirsch

PHIL 123b Neuroethics
[ hum wi ]
Focuses on the philosophical and ethical implications that arise from advances in neuroscience. We will investigate questions like: What are the evolutionary origins of moral judgement? Does evolutionary theory shed light on morality? Do our moral motivations derive from reason or pre-reflective intuition? Do psychopaths have moral responsibility? Do we have free will? Is there an obligation to enhance ourselves? Should drugs be used to enhance mental functioning? Is it moral to grow human organs in animals for purposes of transplantation? Usually offered every third year.
Staff

PSYC 33a Developmental Psychology
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a (formerly PSYC 1a).
An examination of normal child development from conception through adolescence. Course will focus on theoretical issues and processes of development with an emphasis on how biological and environmental influences interact. Usually offered every year.
Staff

PSYC 37a The Psychology of Adult Development and Aging
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a (formerly PSYC 1a).
Describes the sensory, cognitive, personality, health, and social changes that occur during early, middle, and later adulthood. Emphasis is on pathways to successful development and healthy aging in the context of a shifting balance of gains and losses in psychological and physical functioning. Usually offered every year.
Margie Lachman

PSYC 38a Health Psychology
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a (formerly PSYC 1a).
An examination of the social and psychological factors important for well-being, physical health, and effective medical care. Psychological perspectives are applied to such topics as health promotion and compromise, the stress-illness relationship, social relations, chronic illness, death and dying, and health care provider and patient interactions. Usually offered every year.
Jutta Wolf

PSYC 130b Life Span Development: Early and Middle Adulthood
[ ss ]
Prerequisites: PSYC 10a, PSYC 51a, and PSYC 52a, plus one of the following: PSYC 31a, PSYC 33a, PSYC 36b or PSYC 37a, or permission of the instructor.
Seminar on advanced topics in life span developmental theory and methodology. Substantive emphasis will be on cognitive, personality, social, and physical changes that occur in early adulthood and midlife. Usually offered every second year.
Margie Lachman

PSYC 169b Disorders of Childhood
[ ss ]
Prerequisites: PSYC 10a, 33a, and permission of the instructor. Seniors and juniors have priority for admission.
Issues of theory, research, and practice in the areas of child and family psychopathology and treatment are reviewed in the context of normal developmental processes. Usually offered every semester.
Joseph Cunningham

SOC 117b Sociology of Science, Technology, and Medicine
[ ss ]
From the moment we are born, to when we die, our lives are shaped by science, technology, and medicine. This course draws on both historical and contemporary case studies to examine how science and medicine enter into our ideas about who we are as individuals and members of social groups (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity), understandings of health and illness, and ideals regarding what constitutes a good life, and a good death. Usually offered every second year.
Sara Shostak

SOC 133b Sociology of Reproduction
[ ss ]
Explores reproduction as a social and biological set of meanings and processes through which racial, national, gender, and socio-economic inequalities have been amplified, reconfigured and contested across time and place. It locates individual reproductive experiences and outcomes in regional, national and global contexts. Usually offered every year.
Siri Suh

SOC 165a Living and Dying in America: The Sociology of Birth and Death
[ ss ]
Not open to first year students. Not open to students who had a death in their immediate family in the past year.
This course introduces the tools and concepts central to the sociological study of birth and death in the United States. It is discussion-based and includes guest speakers, field trips, and interactive assignments. Usually offered every year.
Wendy Cadge

SOC 187a Race, Health and Medicine in the African Diaspora
[ ss ]
Offers critical perspectives on race, medicine, health, and illness in the African Diaspora. Specifically, we explore how intertwining ideologies of race and gender have contributed to the (mis)management of illness and health in populations of African descent from the periods of slavery and colonization until the present day. Usually offered ever year.
Siri Suh

SOC 189a Sociology of Body and Health
[ ss ]
Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual experiences and opportunities for agency and resistance. Usually offered every year.
Sara Shostak

SOC 194a Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
[ ss ]
Examines sociological approaches to mental health and illness. The focus is on the history, definitions, social responses and consequences of conceptualizations and treatment of mental illness. This will include some discussion of social factors related to mental disorder and types of mental health treatment. Usually offered every second year.
Christopher Gillespie

SOC 199b So You Want to Change The World?: Sociology in Action
[ ss ]
Preference given to junior and senior Sociology majors and graduate students.
Provides an opportunity for senior Sociology majors to consider in depth how sociologists engage with the research process to inform both academic and public debate over pressing social issues. Usually offered every year.
Staff

WMGS 151a The Social Politics of Sexual Education
[ ss ]
Covers the history and sociocultural politics of sexual education in the Global North with a strong focus on the U.S. Using queer, feminist, disability, and race theory, it examines what shapes "sex" and "education." Usually offered every third year.
Keridwen Luis

WMGS 156b Sexuality and Healthcare
[ ss ]
Considers how ideas about gender and sexuality affect healthcare, with a particular focus on queer and trans communities. Examines the creation of "the homosexual" and "the transsexual" as medicalized categories; the recent expansion of access to healthcare; and medicine's role in constructing certain kinds of bodies. Usually offered every second year.
Keridwen Luis

Undergraduates in the HSSP program may be admitted to the graduate-level courses below (numbered above 200) with the permission of the instructor.

HSSP 102a Introduction to Global Health
[ ss ]
A primer on major issues in health care in developing nations. Topics include the natural history of disease and levels of prevention; epidemiological transitions; health disparities; and determinants of health including culture, social context, and behavior. Also covers: infectious and chronic disease incidence and prevalence; the role of nutrition, education, reproductive trends, and poverty; demographic transition including aging and urbanization; the structure and financing of health systems; and the globalization of health. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 104b Health Economics
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
Emphasizes the concepts and tools of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, the demand for health services, insurance and risk, managed care, provider reimbursement, national health insurance, and an overview of health care systems in other countries. Usually offered every second year.
Dominic Hodgkin

HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.
Overview of the principles of management within health care, and how public policy decisions can influence the choices of individual healthcare organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving health care quality, delivering patient satisfaction, and containing costs. Usually offered every year.
Darren Zinner

HSSP 107b Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs and Devices
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: HS 104b or permission of the instructor. Priority given to HSSP majors and minors.
An overview of the role of medical technology in the U.S. health care system, with a focus on the impact of prescription drugs on the health care system, their promise for the future, and inherent risks. Usually offered every year.
Cindy Thomas

HSSP 112b Perspectives on Child Health and Well-Being
[ ss wi ]
Open only to juniors and seniors.
This is a survey course on child well-being in the United States. It is divided into four sections: child development, child and family context, environment, and programs and services. We will focus on early childhood and school-age child issues – with a complementary understanding of adolescence and family issues. The course will consider theoretical perspectives, the science of child development and outcomes, methods for understanding and tackling child public health issues and finally the services and programs available – and needed – for optimal child health. We will primarily use three frames: social determinants of health, social ecological model, and life course perspective. They consider race, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, immigration status, education and other important issues in the larger context of child public health. Usually offered every year.
Lindsay Rosenfeld

HSSP 115b Perspectives on Behavioral Health: Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental Health
[ ss ]
A survey course which focuses on the science and biological basis of substance use and mental disorders, and linkages between behavioral health and general health. Consequences of behavioral health on society are discussed. Policy responses and the treatment system are assessed for their effectiveness. Usually offered every year.
Sharon Reif

HSSP 118b Viewing Medicine and Health Policy Through the Lens of Literature
[ oc ss ]
Literature – fiction, memoir, poetry and drama – offers a powerful lens for studying key health policy issues. By harnessing the power of authors’ imaginations, insights and compelling stories, students can gain deeper insight into patient centered care, ethics in research, access to healthcare, obesity and hunger, role of the pharmaceutical and tobacco, aging policy, disability, and clinicians’ roles and training. Usually offered every third year.
Deborah Garnick

HSSP 128a Disability Policy
[ ss ]
Focuses on exploring the principles and provisions of disability service programs in the United States and on developing an understanding of the complexities surrounding the financial, ethical, and legal issues related to current disability policies and the consequences of these policies. Usually offered every year.
Staff

HSSP 135a Special Topics in Public Health: U.S. History and Policy
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
With an interdisciplinary focus, this course examines the complex history of efforts in the U.S. to improve our population's health. Key topics include promoting sanitation / environmental health, managing chronic / infectious diseases, and enhancing emergency preparedness as well as the role of law / government. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

HSSP 148b The Policy Context of Families of Children with Disabilities
[ ss ]
Examines the role of families in raising children with disabilities, how families have influenced the development of policies/programs for children with disabilities, and how they interact with these policies/programs to improve their children's well-being and outcomes. Usually offered every year.
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
[ ss ]
In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.
Steve Gulley

JOUR 130b Science and Journalism in Society
[ ss wi ]
Scientific progress has brought extraordinary medical advances and serious environmental crises. Good medical and science journalism has never been more important in understanding our world and how to fix it. This course is an introduction to the skills needed to cover medical and science news. It focuses on how to report and write daily news stories and longer features. It also explores the ethical, social, and political issues raised by the press coverage of science and medicine. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
[ ss ]
Not recommended for freshmen.
Focuses on individual rights, highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

LGLS 114aj American Health Care: Reform
[ ss ]
Eight years after the historic passage of the ACA, the United States and our health care system is at a cross roads. While the ACA seems to have weathered most of the significant implementation challenges, even its most ardent supporters acknowledge that the law provides only a partial fix for our nation's health care system. While access should improve appreciably, particularly for those who are currently uninsured, many will still remain without access to needed care. Moreover, among advanced nations our costs are the highest by far and the quality of our care is no better than that found in these less costly nations. We will explore the ACA, the events leading up to its passage, the policies the law was designed to further, and its impacts so far. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Alice Noble

LGLS 131b Patient Autonomy: Law, Medicine, and Ethics
[ ss ]
Focuses on patient rights, examines how health care decisions are made, and by whom. Explores a range of current issues in the field of biomedical ethics, including the legal and ethical aspects of the physician-patient relationship, the doctrine of informed consent, medical futility, assisted reproduction, physician-assisted suicide, personhood, the right-to-die, clinical research, and emerging technologies. Analyzes hard and often tragic choices involving life, quality of life, and death. Assesses the ability of the legal system to set standards and resolve conflict. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

LGLS 131bj Patient Autonomy: Law, Medicine, and Ethics
[ ss ]
At the heart of our evolving health care system are the doctor and the patient. Related to the doctor-patient relationship are often complex issues related to patient autonomy, life and death treatment decisions, and the cost of and access to care. They implicate questions of justice and the just distribution of care, a key goal of health care reform. We will explore ethical, legal, and social issues (including end-of-life-decision making, physician assisted suicide, procreative liberty, cloning, and genetic therapies) from the micro level of patient care at the patient's bedside to the macro issues of the health care system in which patient care is delivered and financed. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Sarah Curi

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]
Provides students with an understanding of complex environmental issues from a policy perspective. We begin by considering the broad origins of environmentalism in the U.S and then focus on federal and some state and international treaties and policies. We’ll survey major environmental laws, environmental justice, risk and recent cross-cutting issues. Finally, we’ll discuss current environmental issues ripped from the headlines, like fracking, lead in drinking water as in Flint, Michigan, and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Usually offered every second year.
Laura Goldin

LGLS 138b Science on Trial
[ qr ss ]
Surveys the procedures and analytic methods by which scientific data enter into litigation and regulation/policy making. Introduces basic tools of risk analysis and legal rules of evidence. Case studies of tobacco litigation and regulation; use of DNA and other forensic evidence in the criminal justice system; the Woburn ground-water contamination case; and other topics to be selected, such as genetics in the courtroom, court-ordered Cesarean sections, polygraph testing, alternative medicine, and genetically modified foods. Usually offered every second year.
Daniel Breen

LGLS 149b Genetics, Law and Society
[ ss ]
Explores the social policy implications of new genetic technologies, including legal, ethical, and political challenges. Topics include privacy and discrimination, changing definitions in family law, information technology and intellectual property, forensic implications of DNA testing, regulation of reproductive technology. Usually offered every second year.
Alice Noble

WMGS 168b Economics of Gender, Health and Population
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a, ECON 10a or WMGS 5a.
Examines issues in gender, health, and population from an economic perspective. Emphasis on empirical work and understanding causality. Topics include the US-European divide in female life expectancy, the economics of HIV/AIDS, and the impact of population policies on fertility. Usually offered every third year.
Elizabeth Brainerd

Research methods courses counting towards the BA only (does not satisfy the focal area requirement).

ANTH 81a Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Methods and Practice of Anthropological Research
[ ss wi ]
Formerly offered as ANTH 181aj.
Examines principal issues in ethnographic fieldwork and analysis, including research design, data collection, and ethnographic representation. Students will develop a focused research question, design field research, and conduct supervised fieldwork in a variety of local settings. Usually offered every second year.
Jonathan Anjaria, Elizabeth Ferry, or Pascal Menoret

BIOL 51a Biostatistics
[ sn ]
An introductory level biostatistics class providing an overview to statistical methods used in biological and medical research. Topics include descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, basic concepts of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression and correlation methods, as well as analysis of variance. Emphasis will be on applications to medical problems. Usually offered every year.
Staff

BUS 111a Business Analytics
[ ss ]
Prerequisites: BUS 10a and BUS 51b.
This course is about analyzing and interpreting data about markets and customers. It has been designed for managers who will be using data analytics, and so is intended for students wanting to go into marketing, finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, business strategy and operations management. Students who take this class will learn about the sorts of business decision problems in which research information is most useful, including problems related to pricing, target market selection, and new product introduction. Usually offered every year.
Bhoomija Ranjan

ECON 83a Statistics for Economic Analysis
[ qr ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a. Students must earn C- or higher in MATH 10a, or otherwise satisfy the calculus requirement, to enroll in this course.
A first course in statistical inference. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, normal and binomial distributions, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, properties of estimators, hypothesis testing, regression, and analysis of variance. Usually offered every semester.
Linda Bui, Nidhiya Menon, and Tymon Słoczyński

POL 52a Basic Statistics for Social and Political Analysis
[ qr ss ]
Provides a foundation in statistics focusing on descriptive statistics, inference, hypothesis testing and the basics of regression analysis. Becoming familiar with basic statistics will help you to prepare for a career as a social scientist. Usually offered every second year.
Alejandro Trelles

PSYC 51a Statistics
[ qr ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a (formerly PSYC 1a) or the permission of the instructor. This course normally should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.
Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

PSYC 51aj Statistics
[ qr ss ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or the permission of the instructor.
Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff

SOC 118a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ ss wi ]
Observation is the basis of social inquiry. What we see--and by extension, what we overlook or choose to ignore--guides our understanding of social life. We practice interviews, social observation and analysis of print and visual media. Usually offered every second year.
Wendy Cadge or Sara Shostak

SOC 182a Applied Research Methods
[ qr ss ]
Provides an introduction to research methods and quantitative analysis commonly used in sociology. Using quantitative data, the class explores how higher education reflects the social stratification found in U.S. society. Participants will read peer-reviewed journal articles; design their own survey and analyze the results; and conduct analysis on a national data set focused on education. The course assumes no prior knowledge of research methods, but it does assume a curiosity about why we conduct research, how research studies are designed, and a willingness to analyze the results of different research studies. Usually offered every second year.
Kim Godsoe