Gives students the theoretical background and factual knowledge
to explain how political institutions and actors both facilitate
and impede disease control. Students will explore a range of
contemporary and historical examples of successful and failed
attempts to control disease, viewed through the lens of two core
social science concepts–collective action and public goods.
Athena Title
Politics of Disease Control
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in INTL 4615E, HPAM 4615E
Pre or Corequisite
INTL 3200 or INTL 3200E or INTL 3200H or INTL 3300 or INTL 3300E or INTL 3300H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students will be able to synthesize details about the concepts in international affairs (e.g., the international system, actors in the international system, the principles of sovereignty and anarchy, etc.).
By the end of the course students will be able to evaluate how the characteristics of various political systems lead to different political outcomes.
By the end of the course students will be able to evaluate the major theoretical approaches and models used within international relations and comparative politics.
By the end of the course students will be able to evaluate theoretical foundations in the study of international relations and comparative politics when applying them to attempt to explain the causes and effects of historical and contemporary global events.
By the end of the course students will be able to collect and analyze original quality data relative to the causes and effects of historical and contemporary global events.
By the end of the course students will be able to create original, well-informed arguments about the causes and effects of historical and contemporary global events that is theoretically informed and includes quality data.
By the end of the course students will be able to write in a clear structured manner that provides an original theoretically informed argument presented to an intended audience that is supported with data and uses appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.
By the end of the course students will be able to create an original social science research project.
Topical Outline
1. Social Science Foundations
- Theoretical introduction to public goods and collective action problems
2. Vaccination as a collective action problem
- Vaccination today
- Vaccination in the past
3. Disease eradication
- Collective action problems linked to eradication
- The case of smallpox
4. Disease control as environmental protection
- The role of externalities in disease and disease control
- Water-borne disease in early 20th century America
- Air pollution in 19th century Britain
- Air pollution in India and China today
5. HIV in Africa and Brazil
- The impact of ethnic diversity on disease control
6. Malaria
- Malaria in the U.S. South
- Malaria eradication
- Malaria today
7. Democracy and disease
- Cross national studies
- Sub-national studies
