Minnesota State University Moorhead
History 374: Plagues & Peoples:
Disease and the Environment
Course Syllabus
Autumn 2017
Instructor: Dr. Sean Taylor
Meeting Time and Place: MWF 10-10:50 am MacLean 173
Office: Ma 374G
Phone: 477-2814
e-mail: sean.taylor@mnstate.edu
Office Hours: MW 8:15-9:00, 11:00-12:00 and 1:00-2:00; F 8:15-9:00, 11:12:00; Th-9:00-11:00 am virtual office hours at my email address; and by appointment.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it”—Aristotle
Course Description
This course introduces the student to the complex and interdependent relationship humans have with disease and the environment. We have long recognized the environment in which we live and work plays a key role in our physical health. To help us understand our modern social, medical, and political response to epidemic disease, we will examine the ways epidemics have taxed economic, religious, and political resources through time. Additionally, we will look at ways society reacted to epidemic disease, and how the medical community evolved to meet this threat.
Grading & Assignments
Discussion and participation (50%)— Class participation constitutes a substantial part of your grade. Your grade will depend not just on the quantity of your participation but also on the quality of your participation, including the thoughtfulness of your reactions to the readings. I firmly believe the only way you can understand the past is by “rolling up your sleeves and dive right in” and read and think about the material presented in class. Consequently, the only way this course works is if you do your part and come to class having read and thought about this material and having written down questions and thoughts you have about the readings. It is not enough to skim it just before class—you must read it and try to understand why it was written. I also expect you to engage others in the class by asking them questions and interacting with them—my goal is a many-sided conversation involving everyone in the class.
As noted above, a substantial portion of your grade in this class is based on your in-class performance. Participation is evaluated as follows:
A= Well-prepared; brings, refers to, and questions assigned texts; displays critical thinking; respects others and does not dominate; listens attentively.
B= Prepared; brings, refers to, and occasionally questions assigned texts; comments further discussion; listens attentively.
C= Usually prepared; brings but rarely refers to or questions assigned texts; rarely speaks, sometimes inattentive and sometimes engages in private conversations and interrupts others.
D= Often unprepared; often does not bring or is unfamiliar with assigned texts; has private conversations with others and is otherwise inattentive in class.
F= Unprepared; indifferent to issues being discussed and very inattentive.
Attendance and participation are essential and expected for a good grade in this class. I will send an attendance sheet around each day for you to sign. This will not directly affect your participation grade, but does provide me with a record of your attendance should any question arise regarding your participation grade.
Writing Assignments (50%): there will be five writing assignments during this course, consisting of two book reviews, a video review, and a midterm and final examination. Each will be described more fully in the actual assignment, but they will all be essay form. Since this is a writing intensive class with the goal of making you all better writers, all written work in this category will be graded on style, grammar, and clarity, as well as content.
LATE WORK raises the issue of fairness for students who complete all assignments on schedule. Therefore students will not be permitted to MAKE-UP examinations, assignments and papers without a legitimate reason and discussion with the professor PRIOR to the scheduled examination or assignments. In accordance with university policy, students who miss class because of a university-sponsored activity will be permitted to submit assignments after the due date, without penalty.
NOTE: Technical problems with personal computers or other electronic equipment or media will not automatically be accepted as a legitimate reason for lateness. Unexcused LATE PAPERS will be penalized one letter grade per day they are late. Failure to complete major assignments and papers will result in an F course grade.
Academic Integrity: Don’t cheat as I will use every means at my disposal to punish academic dishonesty. Note that plagiarism is often the area students run into problems. The standard definition of plagiarism is copying four or more words in a row without quote marks. A consistent pattern of "paraphrasing" by changing only one or two words also constitutes plagiarism.
Grading: Numerical grade levels are as follows: A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62) F (below 60).
A=Outstanding competence
B=Above satisfactory competence
C=Satisfactory level of competence
D=Marginally satisfactory level of competence
F=Unsatisfactory level of competence
Please note that a C is considered satisfactory at MSUM. I do not believe in grade inflation and will use the entire grade scale when calculating your final grade. If you work hard you will do well. Note also that A’s are given for work considered outstanding. Simply fulfilling the course requirements will not guarantee an A in this class. You must clearly exhibit outstanding competence to receive an A in the course.
General Expectations: Throughout the entire semester I expect an intellectual commitment on your part. Education is a two-part process: I must want to teach you, and you must want to learn. I will do everything I know to stimulate your interest, but I expect you not only to complete all the requirements but also to think deeply about the content of the course. This course is challenging, but I believe you will find it rewarding and perhaps, dare I say it, fun—if you keep up with the work.
Course Readings
- Bring Out Your Dead: The Great Plague of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793. John Harvey Powell.
- The Burdens Of Disease: Epidemics and Human Response in Western History. J. N., Hays,
- The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe, Robert S. Gottfried
- The Cholera Years: the United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866, Charles E. Rosenberg
- Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, Michael T. Osterholm
- online readings in D2L and handouts
A note from accessibility services:
"Minnesota State University Moorhead is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. Accessibility Resources (AR) is the campus office that collaborates with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange accommodations.
• If you have, or think you may have, a disability (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory or physical) please contact the AR at (218) 477-4318 (V) or (800)627.3529 (MRS/TTY) to schedule an appointment for an intake.
• Additional information is available on the AR website: http://www.mnstate.edu/accessibility
If you are registered with the AR and have a current Accommodation Letter, please schedule an appointment to visit with me, during my office hours, to discuss implementation of your accommodations."
If you are registered with the DRC and have a current Accommodation Letter, please schedule an appointment to visit with me, during my office hours, to discuss implementation of your accommodations.”
Goal 10: People and the Environment
Goal:
To improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the inter-relatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both bio-physical principles and sociocultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.
Students will be able to:
- Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
• Discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical and socio-cultural systems.
• Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic,
religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
- Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.
Goal 5: History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Goal:
To increase students' knowledge of how historians and social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.
Students will be able to:
• Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
• Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
• Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.