What do we learn from taking a historical perspective on infectious disease?

PUBHLTH 405
Social Epidemiology of Infectious Disease
University of Michigan School of Public Health

Jon Zelner
[email protected]
epibayes.io

Agenda

  • Who am I and why am I teaching this class? (5m)

  • What is the social history of infectious disease and why should you care? (10m)

  • Brief review of class structure and syllabus (20m)

  • Don’t take my word for it: Feedback from the last group of students. (5m)

  • Questions? (~10m)

  • First day survey (5m)

Who am I?

I am not a dog, but this is my dog.

What is this class about, anyway?

In groups of 4-5:

  • What do you think it means to study the social history of something?

  • Why might it be helpful for health professionals, researchers and the public to understand the history of infectious diseases?

  • How might a better understanding of public health history inform your academic or career goals?

What is social history?

“As a pedagogic enthusiasm, and latterly as an academic practice, social history derives its vitality from its oppositional character. It prides itself on being concerned with ‘real life’ rather than abstractions, with ‘ordinary’ people rather than privileged elites, with everyday things rather than sensational events.” (1)

Why should we care about public health history?

“History sensitizes us to the interplay of the varied social, political, and economic forces that positioned public health at different moments in time, regardless of the areas of responsibility the field claimed at the time.” (2)

Controversial in 1918, controversial now…

How different are the recent past - and present - from ‘history’?

Masked medalists at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

Historical epidemics often shape the future

Excerpt from Chapter 14 of Project 2025

What are we going to do this semester?

Feedback from Fall 2022

What do you wish you knew about this course before you took it?

“This class was more socially related than I thought it would be. It took a minute to get used to that but it’s a really unique and interesting perspective. You’ll get the chance to work closely within groups for the majority of the term and the assignments, which is nice but you also get feedback and discussion supplemented from the course and Professor Zelner. You should take this class if you are interested in social science, inequality, and history!”

What do you wish you knew about this course before you took it?

“Your experience with this class entirely depends on yourself. If you are not attending class, reading the books, or listening to the podcasts, you will not learn anything. However, if you are actively participating and engaging with the content then there is a lot to be learned about infectious history. A lot of the semester also focuses on the group project. Whether or not you have a good group can really impact your experience with it. In order to be successful with that I think it’s important to set clear expectations with your group members so to establish an understanding so you can get your work done.”

What do you wish you knew about this course before you took it?

“I really enjoyed the beginning topics on cholera and the black plague, I really enjoyed reading Infectious Fear and everything it had to offer in a historical fiction sort of way. I wish the rest of the class had kind of followed more of that format, while interesting, some of the readings became tedious, but also there is the podcast series at the end of the term to look forward to which I enjoyed.””

What do you wish you knew about this course before you took it?

“I was surprised about the things I learned about my project topic (MRSA). I think that the course being self-graded takes off a lot of pressure…and allows the student to learn at their own pace and explore topics that are of their own interest.”

What do you wish you knew about this course before you took it?

“[After taking this class] you will think about your place in the world not just as a scientist or a policymaker, but someone that will have responsibility in determining how people perceive an infectious disease, themselves, and others.”

What would you change?

“I feel like we didn’t cover as many of the different infections that I had expected, so maybe adding some more topics.”

“I think having mandatory attendance and a grade for active participation throughout (not just for project days) would greatly benefit this course. There are really good conversations that happen in this class, and getting a grade for active participation would really allow others to engage meaningfully in these discussions.”

“Honestly, I would not change anything. I really enjoyed the content and assignments in this class.”

Changes made in response to feedback

  • More class sessions devoted to in-class project work and student presentations.

  • More explicit expectations around responsibilities and attendance for group projects.

  • Some modifications to the readings (though they can’t all be winners!)

Next Time

Getting a bit more specific about what we can learn from infectious disease history.

Before you go!

A few questions to help me know more about you and your interests

References

1.
Samuel R. What is Social History? History Today [electronic article]. 1985;35(3). (https://www.historytoday.com/archive/what-social-history). (Accessed August 21, 2024)
2.
Fairchild AL, Rosner D, Colgrove J, et al. The EXODUS of Public Health What History Can Tell Us About the Future. American Journal of Public Health [electronic article]. 2010;100(1):54–63. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791244/). (Accessed August 17, 2022)