PHILOSOPHY AND
PUBLIC HEALTH: GLOBAL AND LOCAL Fall
2006
Dr. Christine A. James
80617 PHIL 4800 A Philosophy and
Public Health MW 6:30pm-7:45pm
WH 104
This syllabus is available
online, and may be updated, at http://teach.valdosta.edu/phi/PhilosophyPublicHealthJames2006.htm
Office: 110 Ashley Hall
Office Hours: MW 1:00pm-2:00pm, in
between and after classes and by appointment as needed.
Telephone: 259-7609
Mailbox: Philosophy Department Office
Fax: 259-5011
E-mail address: chjames@valdosta.edu
Course content: This course provides an introduction to philosophy and public
health. Public health is an area of
health care that involves elements from many other disciplines including
medicine, life and environmental sciences, economics, law and ethics. Public
health is concerned with health in its broadest sense, and the health of groups
or populations, not just individuals. These factors mean that this area of
health care involves many interesting conceptual, empirical and ethical issues.
This course will explore a variety of issues in the growing field of philosophy
and public health, including questions like these: What is 'public health'? What is the role of traditional ethical theory
in public health decision making? What
is the current understanding of human rights and individual rights in the
public health literature? How is 'public
health' related to 'population health'? How does the public health community now view
its own history, from Germ Theory, to the
Requirements: Class participation and attendance, two
written examinations, and two papers.
Pop Reading Quizzes may also be given during the semester.
Required Texts:
Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader,
Quality of Life and Human Difference, David Wasserman, Jerome Bickenbach, Robert Wachbroit, eds.,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy,
2005, 0521539714
Selected readings and
academic journal articles as noted in the syllabus, usually by Adobe .pdf
Be sure to do the
reading before the class for which it is assigned. Please bring the relevant
book(s) and/or article(s) with you to class, along with a designated notebook
and some pens.
(In addition,
Philosophy and Religious Studies faculty encourage you to use Andrea A. Lunsford, St.
Martin’s Handbook, 5th ed. (required in ENGL 1101 and 1102). These books are available for purchase at the VSU Bookstore. The
St. Martin’s Handbook is shelved under ENLG 1101 and 1102.)
How grades will be calculated:
A = 100 - 90% Class
participation, attendance = 20%
B = 89 - 80% 2
Exams at 20% each = 40%
C = 79 - 70% 2
Papers at 20% each = 40%
D = 69 - 60% Total
= 100%
F = 59 - 0%
Please note that I am not
obligated to accept late work or to allow “make up” work after the date an
assignment or exam or paper is completed by the other members of the class.
I also make no promises
about extra credit items, although I will routinely announce events on campus
that can result in some extra credit points for you.
Exams and Papers: The exams in our class will be “short answer” written exams. Usually I ask six questions and a complete
answer should be no less than four complete sentences. These exams are “objective” in the sense that
the answers can be directly related to class discussions and the textbook.
Listing of academic
journals to which our library provides full text access:
http://books.valdosta.edu/gal1.html (click on “Full Text Journal Title List”) and
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ejournals/locators/acadsearchframe.html
Attendance Policy: I do
care that you attend class regularly. As
you know, VSU policy is that missing 20% of class meetings results in an
automatic grade of “F”. Faculty can also
institute added attendance policies in their syllabi. Our class will have a 10%
rule for absences. You can miss up to
10% of the class meetings with no grade penalty. 10% of our 30 class meetings is 3. On absence number 4, your final grade for the
course will be reduced by one whole letter grade; on absence number 5, your
final grade for the course will be reduced by two whole letter grades; on
absence number 6, you will automatically fail the course. Be considerate of your fellow students –
don’t be late, and don’t leave your cell phones and pagers on. Note that if you are regularly late to class,
or leave class early, I will begin to count each as an absence. Please note that this policy makes no
distinction between excused and unexcused absences.
Special Needs:
Students
requiring classroom accommodations or modification because of a documented
disability should discuss this need with me at the beginning of the
semester. If you are such a student, but
you are not registered with the Access Office, you should contact them too. Students requesting classroom accommodations or
modifications because of a documented disability must contact the Access Office
for Students with Disabilities located in room 1115 Nevins Hall. The phone
numbers are 229-245-2498 (voice) and 229-219-1348 (tty).
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By
the end of the semester,
1. You will be able to
understand the distinctions pertinent to the history, ethics and law of public
health.
2. You will be able to
recognize how philosophical ethics applies to ‘real-world’ circumstances of
public health issues.
3. You will become more conversant
with the history of philosophy, ethics, and the history of public health.
4. You will be able to
recognize and define different world views on public health, connecting them to
local and global issues. For class
writing assignments, you will adopt a reasonably viable world view, and justify
it in a philosophically informed way that emphasizes critical reasoning and
argument.
5. You will be
able to demonstrate the ability to discuss, in both oral and written discourse,
the philosophical issues explored in the course.
6. You will be
familiar with what academic philosophy is, and you will understand how it can
be applied to daily life as well as specific careers.
Members
of the faculty in Philosophy and Religious Studies have verified that these
outcomes are in line with the outcomes of the course as it is taught at peer
institutions in the State System of Georgia.
Participate!
Once you
arrive at class, make an effort to get involved in the conversation. Don’t
hesitate to ask questions if you need clarification or would like more
information: if you are confused, it is likely that others are too! The
participation percentage you receive will depend on a variety of factors, including
(but not limited to) the frequency and helpfulness of your contributions to
class discussions and the care you take when peer editing.
Pop Reading
Quizzes:
If I
notice that there are many students who are not keeping up with the reading, I may
periodically administer reading quizzes in class. These will not be announced
in advance. No “make-up” quizzes will be given, and a missed quiz will result
in a grade of zero. These quizzes are a
solid reward for attending class, participating, and keeping up with the
readings.
Online Discussions:
(Special Thank You to
Richard Amesbury and other faculty members who teach using WebCT Vista, and the
eCore staff!)
During
certain weeks of the semester, you also will be expected to participate
regularly in on-line discussions using WebCT Vista. Use this opportunity to
comment on the week’s readings, ask questions, raise objections, and respond to
what others have written or said in class.
To use
To log in
to Vista and the course “shell,” go to the VSU homepage and click on the words WebCT Vista in the upper right-hand corner.
Your username and password are the same as for your BlazeNet e-mail account.
For instructions on getting started, go to: http://www.valdosta.edu/vista and the
help pages at http://www.valdosta.edu/vista/guides/start/index.shtml
When
posting in an online bulletin board, like those in the Discussion area of WebCT
Vista, you must (1) post at least one original message of your own, (2) read all
the messages posted by others, and (3) respond substantively to at least one message from another student. Your
postings are due the same day as the readings are listed in the schedule below
(i.e., no later than 11:59 p.m. on the relevant dates.)
Your
first message on a given topic should be about 200 words in length. That is roughly
the length of two medium-sized paragraphs (e.g., this one and the next). Your
second (response) posting can be about half that length, but it should be substantive (i.e., involving serious
content). Try not to simply repeat what others have said already. Additional
postings can be as long or as short as you desire. Be sure to give the first
message an interesting title in the “Subject” line. This will help alert the rest
of us as to what it will be about.
When you
are ready to respond to someone else, do so by opening their message and
hitting the “Reply” button. This will create a “thread” that others can add on
to. Keep in mind that although it is fine to disagree with what someone else
has said, it is important to do so in a way that is polite and constructive. If
someone says something that makes you angry, pause and take a breath before
firing off a reply! You can preview your message before you send it, but once you
have hit “Post,” your message will no longer be editable.
Academic
Honesty:
Members
of the
E-Mail:
VSU
policy mandates that all official communication by e-mail take place through
VSU e-mail accounts or through the WebCT Vista Mail tool. Please check your VSU (@valdosta.edu) e-mail
account regularly.
Note: This syllabus is not a legal
contract; the content of this course is subject to revision by the professor.
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Schedule
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|
8/14 |
Introduction to the class.
For the next class, read the
introductory document linked below.
Note, it is very helpful to have access to Adobe Reader for the class
materials. If you do not have Adobe
Reader on your own computer, the Odum Library computers have it, and you can
print for free. http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/phealth.pdf
http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/phealth.doc (Each date in the class
after this one assumes that you will have read that day’s assigned discussion
reading before class.) What is Philosophy? Do
Philosophy majors get jobs related to that major? Here are two pages to answer that: |
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8/16 |
Discussion of http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/phealth.pdf |
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8/21 |
Discussion of Public Health Law and Ethics, Gostin,
editor, pages 1-19 “Public Health Law,
Ethics, and Human Rights: Mapping the Issues” |
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8/23 |
Discussion of PHLE, pages 23-65 |
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8/28 |
Discussion
of PHLE, pages 23-65 |
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8/30 |
Discussion of PHLE, pages 67-93 |
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9/4 |
Labor Day
Holiday, no class |
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9/6 |
On this
date, Dr. James will be at a conference in |
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9/11 |
Review and Discuss PHLE,
pages 67-93 |
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9/13 |
Discussion of PHLE, pages
95-125 |
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9/18 |
Discussion of PHLE, pages
95-125 |
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9/20 |
First Exam |
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9/25 |
Discussion of PHLE, pages 127-158 |
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9/27 |
Cases and Articles: http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/CommunicationattheCore.pdf
http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/LocalPublicHealthCost.pdf
ThePersonalDentalService handout |
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10/2 |
First Paper Due Today Be ready to discuss your papers in class. |
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10/4 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 295-333 |
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10/9 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 295-333 |
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10/11 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 335-375 |
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10/16 |
Fall
Break, no class Are
you anticipating having a job interview? Here’s a document that might
help! http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/jobsearch.pdf
http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/jobsearch.doc |
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10/18 |
Discussion of PHLE pages
335-375 http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/TeachingthePublicHealthCore.pdf
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10/23 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 377-412 |
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10/25 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 377-412 http://teach.valdosta.edu/chjames/PlacestoWalk.pdf
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10/30 |
Discussion of PHLE pages
415-445 |
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11/1 |
Discussion of PHLE pages 447-485 |
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11/6 |
Second Paper Due: Be ready to discuss your papers in class. |
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11/8 |
Discussion of Quality of Life and Human Difference, pages 1-41 |
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11/13 |
Discussion of QLHD, pages 43-64 |
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11/15 |
Discussion of QLHD, pages 67-99 |
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11/20 |
Discussion
of QLHD, pages 142-169 |
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11/22 |
Thanksgiving
Break, no class |
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11/27 |
Discussion
of QLHD, pages 217-235 |
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11/29 |
Discussion
of QLHD, pages 237-262 |
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12/4 |
Review for Final Exam |
The last official class day for all Fall Semester classes is
Monday 12/4.
FINAL EXAM:
Our official exam time is Wednesday, December 6 at 5:00pm-7:00pm
in the usual room.
If you are not sure about how the final exam times are assigned
for your other courses, use this link, and check the Final Exam Schedule on
page 3 of the Registrar’s Fall 2006 Guide document:
http://www.valdosta.edu/eas/sis/guides/RG_Fall_06.pdf
Tips for doing well in Philosophy classes, adapted from a handout
by Robert Scott
1. Read text with a pencil, underline the
important ideas and key concepts. Write down technical ideas, key terms, key
distinctions between two terms, definitions, diagrams, etc. to help you
remember them.
2. Write questions or reactions you have to the
text in the margin of the book. Ask
about these questions in class, and keep them in mind, since they may provide
good points to make about that author in papers you will write for class.
3. Read ahead to see the ultimate objectives of
the chapter and of the individual readings.
Keep in mind the overall picture of the chapters given in the
introductory sections to each chapter in the book.
4. Work with the new terminology frequently, and
try to apply it to situations outside of class.
I would recommend flash cards to help you memorize the meanings of new
terms quickly.
5. For longer readings, be sure to review the
reading as a whole after you have read it section-by-section. What was the main question the author wanted
to address? What were the answers? What concepts were used to make the points?
6. When confronted with a difficult reading or
question, break it down into parts, and into individual ideas. This will at least help to clarify the
question, even if it might not give the answer.
And for philosophy, clarifying the question is really half the battle!
7. Ponder an unsolved problem and return to it
every so often to see if it will give.
Inspiration may happen at an unexpected time, and the subconscious mind
does work on problems even when we aren't consciously aware of it.
8. Begin work on all the class tasks early, and
spread out your work over time so as to maximize your chances for comprehending
the readings accurately, memorizing the information, and grappling with the
questions for papers.
9. If you do need to meet with an instructor
outside of class, be sure to have your questions for the instructor planned out
ahead of time, to make the meeting as productive as possible.
10. Always think about the philosophical issues
for yourself, rather than waiting to be told what to think or believe.
11. Study for all exams on a daily basis, for at
least a week before the exam date. You will need to know who said what, from
memory.
12. Try to anticipate the questions that will be
asked on an examination beforehand.
Questions may come from the readings or from lectures and class discussions,
but in either case, certain terms and concepts will be emphasized more than
others.
13. Listen carefully to different points of view,
and actively respond (when you read, when you are in class, and when you write
your philosophy papers)!
14. Philosophy involves skills, like learning to
appreciate a good debate, learning to imagine the world differently than we
assume it to be, and appreciating the world with a sense of wonder.
Richard Amesbury’s tips about
writing in Philosophy and Religious Studies:
(1) A
really great website for students about how to write academic papers is
maintained by the Dartmouth Writing Program:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/toc.shtml
In addition
to lots of helpful general information, it has special pages on "Writing
the Religion Paper" and "Writing the Philosophy Paper."
(2) A great
website that explains the importance of critically evaluating web resources --
always a problem area for students – is maintained by Robert Harris:
http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
(3) A third
thing I'm planning to do this semester is to require students to own a copy of
the
Dr. Richard
Amesbury