***All courses are to be held synchronously online during Session C (August 3rd – September 11th)
Soc Gen 5
Integrative Approaches to Human Biology and Society
Instructor: Surya Kumar
Time & Date: T/Th 12:45 PM – 2:50 PM
Description: Introduction to concept of problem-based approaches to study of biology and society and areas of concentration, such as bioethics and public science policy, evolutionary biology, culture, and behavior, historical and social studies of life sciences, medical genetics and public health, and population genetics and history, and central thematic issues shared across concentrations, such as commercialization of life and public understanding of science.
This specific version of Soc Gen 5 examines social epigenomics and its potential role in shaping health disparities; and how those link basic biological mechanisms to social and environmental stressors (such as war, famine, intimate partner violence, and pollution). It will also explore the field’s evolving landscape, highlighting its strengths and uncertainties. Students gain interdisciplinary perspective through engagement with natural and social scientific research and debates.
Requirements Fulfilled:
- Social Analysis GE or Life Sciences GE
- Pre-HBS Major Core Course Requirement
Soc Gen 141
Nature versus Nurture: Genes and Environment
Instructor: Dr. Enrique Sosa
Time & Date: M/W 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Description: Comprehensive and practical examination of emerging science of gene-environment interaction. Discussion of primary components of field, including role of metabolic pathways in modifying environmental responses and importance of environmental influences in human disease. Exploration of selected hot topics in field such as importance of epigenetics and of microbiome. Course is highly useful for further study in medical field or public health.
Requirements Fulfilled:
- HBS Major Elective
- Soc Gen Minor Elective
Soc Gen 164
Ethics in Health and Research
Instructor: Dr. Enrique Sosa
Time & Date: T/Th 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Description: How should life-saving organs be allocated in context of scarcity? What happens when doctor disagrees with patient on best treatment? Should researchers be allowed to experiment on human beings? Although medicine has always been faced with life-or-death decisions, new challenges arise in light of dramatic advances of biomedicine in 21st century. New possibilities for cures come with new moral issues. Biomedical research is full of promises, yet faces many ethical difficulties. Examination of complexity of decision making in bioethics by articulating point of views of all actors engaged in those decisions at local and international levels–doctors, nurses, patients, families, health policymakers, researchers, and citizens. Focus on case studies with reliance on philosophical essays and material from contemporary media.
Requirements Fulfilled:
- HBS Major Elective
- Soc Gen Minor Elective
- Diversity Requirement for College of Letters and Science, Music, Public Affairs, Education and Information Studies, Public Health, and Theater, Film, and Television
Soc Gen 180
Waste, Environmental Exposures, and the Body
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Vaughn
Time & Date: M/W 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Description: Introduction to interdisciplinary fields of discard studies and science and technology studies. Examination of several cross-disciplinary perspectives in biological and human sciences connected to one of most complex conundrums of these times: waste. Consideration of waste management; and impact of waste on bodies, communities, climate, and global health. Students ponder topics such as theories and impacts of exposure, zero-waste initiatives and management strategies, specific sanitation technologies, health concerns of environmental pollutants, microplastics and nanoplastics, methods for measuring and documenting health effects, and more.
Requirements Fulfilled:
- HBS Major Elective
- Soc Gen Minor Elective