| HEST 201-01 |
Introduction to Health Studies
Instructor: Shawn Bender
Course Description:
Introduction to Health Studies is a multi-disciplinary course that explores various theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of health. In addition to providing the overall framework for the materials covered, the faculty-convener of the course will draw on speakers from Dickinson faculty who will present health studies materials relevant to their respective areas of special expertise. Faculty speakers will be drawn from a range of disciplines at the college, including American Studies, Anthropology, Biology, History, International Business and Management, Philosophy, Policy Studies, Psychology, and Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies.Normally offered spring semester.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
STERN 103 |
| HEST 250-01 |
Health & The Criminal Legal System
Instructor: Chloe Craig
Course Description:
Cross-listed with LAWP 290-03 and SOCI 230-02. In this class, students will learn how the criminal legal system impacts health. We will first unpack distal and proximate determinants of health and Fundamental Causes theory. We will then analyze health outcomes as they relate to three parts of the criminal legal system: neighborhood surveillance and policing, incarceration, and reentry. We will read works on intersectionality and talk about differences in health outcomes by race, class, and gender. We will spend several weeks on reproductive health and incarceration. Students will be required to engage in weekly discussions based on readings and produce a final research paper on health and the criminal legal system on a topic that interests them. By the end of the class, students should have a deep understanding of how institutions can influence health at the individual level and should be able to demonstrate the relationship between health and the criminal legal system.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
DENNY 104 |
| HEST 250-02 |
Nutrition
Instructor: Supriya Dixit
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to the principles of human nutrition with an emphasis on the biochemical, physiological, and clinical aspects relevant to health care practice. Topics include the chemical properties, digestion, absorption, metabolism, functions, and dietary sources of macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and trace elements). The role of nutrition in energy balance, growth, maintenance, and disease prevention is explored, along with current dietary guidelines and evidence-based recommendations. Students will apply concepts through case studies that link nutrition to patient care, clinical assessment, and wellness promotion.
This course is designed for students preparing for admission to allied health programs such as nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other health-related fields.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
KAUF 186 |
| Courses Offered in AFST |
| AFST 256-01 |
Health and Healing in Africa
Instructor: James Ellison
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ANTH 256-01. This course addresses three interrelated aspects of health and healing in Africa. We examine health in Africa from a biomedical perspective, learning about disease, morbidity, mortality, and biomedical care. We place African health and health care into a framework of political economy, examining the causes and consequences of illness and disease and the forces that shape and constrain care. We also examine the cultural and historical dimensions of health and healing in specific regions of the continent, bringing ethnographic knowledge to bear on contemporary health problems and thereby gaining an understanding of the lived experiences of health and healing in Africa. This course is cross-listed as ANTH 256.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 212 |
| Courses Offered in ANTH |
| ANTH 216-01 |
Medical Anthropology
Instructor: Anastasia Hudgins
Course Description:
This course will introduce you to Medical Anthropology, its major theoretical approaches and its contribution to public health. Medical Anthropology draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand those factors that influence health and wellbeing, the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of sickness, healing processes, therapy management, and the cultural importance and utilization of pluralistic medical systems. We will emphasize the importance of understanding the social context in which health and disease are produced and unevenly distributed.Offered each spring semester. This course will introduce you to Medical Anthropology, its major theoretical approaches and its contribution to public health. Medical Anthropology draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand those factors that influence health and wellbeing, the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of sickness, healing processes, therapy management, and the cultural importance and utilization of pluralistic medical systems. We will emphasize the importance of understanding the social context in which health and disease are produced and unevenly distributed.Offered each spring semester.
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01:30 PM-04:30 PM, R
EASTC 411 |
| ANTH 256-01 |
Health and Healing in Africa
Instructor: James Ellison
Course Description:
Cross-listed with AFST 256-01.
This course addresses three interrelated aspects of health and healing in Africa. We examine health in Africa from a biomedical perspective, learning about disease, morbidity, mortality, and biomedical care. We place African health and health care into a framework of political economy, examining the causes and consequences of illness and disease and the forces that shape and constrain care. We also examine the cultural and historical dimensions of health and healing in specific regions of the continent, bringing ethnographic knowledge to bear on contemporary health problems and thereby gaining an understanding of the lived experiences of health and healing in Africa.This course is cross-listed as AFST 256.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 212 |
| Courses Offered in BIOL |
| BIOL 326-01 |
Microbiology w/Lab
Instructor: David Kushner
Course Description:
Permission of the Instructor Required. Molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry (structure and function) of bacteria, archaea, and viruses. Includes an introduction to the immune system and mechanisms of medical control of microbes. Molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis are addressed via readings from the recent primary literature. Laboratory exercises include the isolation and characterization of unknown bacteria using traditional and molecular methods, and modern genomic approaches to characterizing host response to infection.
Six hours classroom a week. Prerequisites: One 200-level BIOL course. For Neuroscience majors, prerequisite is NRSC 200.
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01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
RNORTH 1316
08:30 AM-09:20 AM, MWF
STUART 1113 |
| BIOL 333-01 |
Human Physiology w/Lab
Instructor: Chuck Zwemer
Course Description:
This course examines physiological mechanisms in the human body with an emphasis on the chemical and physical principles that govern the normal functions of organs and organ systems to maintain homeostasis. Topics include the nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, digestive, renal, reproductive, and immune systems. The laboratory reinforces lecture material through experiments that involve physiological measurements and data analysis.Six hours classroom a week. Prerequisites: One 200-level BIOL course. For Neuroscience majors, prerequisite is NRSC 200. This course examines physiological mechanisms in the human body with an emphasis on the chemical and physical principles that govern the normal functions of organs and organ systems to maintain homeostasis. Topics include the nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, digestive, renal, reproductive, and immune systems. The laboratory reinforces lecture material through experiments that involve physiological measurements and data analysis.Six hours classroom a week. Prerequisites: One 200-level BIOL course. For Neuroscience majors, prerequisite is NRSC 200.
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09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
JAMESR 1228
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, M
JAMESR 1228 |
| BIOL 427-01 |
Virology
Instructor: David Kushner
Course Description:
An introduction to the molecular and cellular biology of viruses. Topics of study include the life cycle of viruses in general and their relationships with their hosts, including the processes of attachment to, entry into, genomic replication within, and exit from, cells. Aspects of pathogenesis, disease, the immune response to viruses, and vaccines, also will be studied. Related topics (such as prions, RNA interference, and public health issues) may be discussed. Regular reading and discussion of primary literature will complement the lectures.
Three hours classroom a week. Prerequisite: 213, 216, 313, 316, 318, 326 or 327. An introduction to the molecular and cellular biology of viruses. Topics of study include the life cycle of viruses in general and their relationships with their hosts, including the processes of attachment to, entry into, genomic replication within, and exit from, cells. Aspects of pathogenesis, disease, the immune response to viruses, and vaccines, also will be studied. Related topics (such as prions, RNA interference, and public health issues) may be discussed. Regular reading and discussion of primary literature will complement the lectures.
Three hours classroom a week. Prerequisite: 213, 216, 313, 316, 318, 326 or 327.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
STUART 1113 |
| Courses Offered in EASN |
| EASN 206-02 |
History of Medicine and the Body in East Asia
Instructor: Evan Young
Course Description:
Cross-listed with HIST 217-01. This course is an introduction to the history of medicine in East Asia. We will begin by exploring the theoretical and practical underpinnings of classical Chinese medicine, which was the foundation of healing practices in premodern China, Korea, and Japan. We will then move on to trace the introduction of modern bio-medicine and the eventual reemergence of "Traditional Chinese Medicine" as an alternative style of therapy in the 20th century. We will also consider a wide range of topics that have generated compelling intellectual dialogue, including the relationship between doctors and patients and between medicine and the state.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
DENNY 103 |
| Courses Offered in HIST |
| HIST 215-01 |
History of Madness
Instructor: Kendall Thompson
Course Description:
This course will explore the history of madness and the scientific disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. We will explore madness chronologically, beginning in the eighteenth century and ending in the present. But we will also take time to examine madness thematically, examining how race, gender, sexuality, and other factors impacted who was deemed mad and sane. How has the treatment of the mad changed in history? Who defined psychiatric illnesses and how were these definitions shaped? How have social and scientific approaches to the study of madness shaped the treatment and perception of the mad?
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
DENNY 110 |
| HIST 217-01 |
History of Medicine and the Body in East Asia
Instructor: Evan Young
Course Description:
Cross-listed with EASN 206-02. This course is an introduction to the history of medicine in East Asia. We will begin by exploring the theoretical and practical underpinnings of classical Chinese medicine, which was the foundation of healing practices in premodern China, Korea, and Japan. We will then move on to trace the introduction of modern bio-medicine and the eventual reemergence of "Traditional Chinese Medicine" as an alternative style of therapy in the 20th century. We will also consider a wide range of topics that have generated compelling intellectual dialogue, including the relationship between doctors and patients and between medicine and the state.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
DENNY 103 |
| Courses Offered in LALC |
| LALC 239-01 |
Spanish for the Health Professions
Instructor: Jorge Sagastume
Course Description:
Cross-listed with SPAN 239-01. This course prepares students to use Spanish meaningfully in real-world health contexts by combining classroom learning with direct service. This is a space where linguistic, cultural, ethical, and social knowledge come together. Through reflection, reading, and a sustained partnership with the Beacon Clinic, students build the vocabulary, cultural awareness, and interpersonal skills required to serve Spanish-speaking communities with empathy and clarity. By applying Spanish in healthcare settings, students confront the complexities of power, equity, and responsibility, especially in the context of migration, labor, and structural inequality. Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or above, or permission of instructor. This course is cross-listed as SPAN 239.
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11:30 AM-12:45 PM, MF
LIBRY ALDEN |
| Courses Offered in NRSC |
| NRSC 400-01 |
Neuroscience Seminar
Instructor: Meredith Rauhut
Course Description:
OK as is - not a topics course.
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09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
TOME 227 |
| Courses Offered in PSYC |
| PSYC 120-01 |
Introduction to Health Psychology
Instructor: Supriya Dixit
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide a broad overview of the interdisciplinary field of health psychology, which uses scientific research methods to study the bi-directional relationship between psychology and health. We will discuss psychological states such as stress and how they affect the body, and mental processes such as finding meaning that are associated with effective coping and positive health outcomes. We will also study health behaviors such as exercise, sleep, eating, and substance use. Finally, we will explore how psychological concepts and research can be applied to health promotion and illness prevention. Course content will be especially relevant to students considering careers in health care or public health. This course is designed to provide a broad overview of the interdisciplinary field of health psychology, which uses scientific research methods to study the bi-directional relationship between psychology and health. We will discuss psychological states such as stress and how they affect the body, and mental processes such as finding meaning that are associated with effective coping and positive health outcomes. We will also study health behaviors such as exercise, sleep, eating, and substance use. Finally, we will explore how psychological concepts and research can be applied to health promotion and illness prevention. Course content will be especially relevant to students considering careers in health care or public health.
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11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF
KAUF 179 |
| PSYC 125-01 |
Brain and Behavior w/Lab
Instructor: Anthony Rauhut
Course Description:
Permission of instructor required. This course will introduce the structure and function of the brain as it influences human behavior. Findings from neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and endocrinology will be considered in their relation to a number of behavioral processes such as perception, memory, and social behavior. In the laboratory, students will engage in hands-on activities to explore brain anatomy and brain-behavior relationships. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
BOSLER 314
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, R
JAMESR 1206 |
| PSYC 165-01 |
Psychopathology
Instructor: Michele Ford
Course Description:
An introduction to various psychological disorders and techniques of diagnosis and treatment. Relevant for students who anticipate careers in medicine, law, and the social or psychological services. This course is a Health Studies elective.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
KAUF 179 |
| PSYC 175-01 |
Introduction to Community Clinical Psychology
Instructor: Sharon Kingston
Course Description:
This course will provide an introduction to the field of community psychology. Community psychology focuses on promoting well-being and preventing negative mental health and social outcomes by understanding persons-in-context and the ways that social issues, institutions, and settings impact individuals, families and communities. In the course, we will: (a) review the historical underpinnings of community psychology; (b) examine the field's major tenets and theories, including its emphasis on understanding the role of the environment in human behavior; (c) explore he field's application to prevent negative mental health and social outcomes and promote well-being and social justice. This course will provide an introduction to the field of community psychology. Community psychology focuses on promoting well-being and preventing negative mental health and social outcomes by understanding persons-in-context and the ways that social issues, institutions, and settings impact individuals, families and communities. In the course, we will: (a) review the historical underpinnings of community psychology; (b) examine the field's major tenets and theories, including its emphasis on understanding the role of the environment in human behavior; (c) explore he field's application to prevent negative mental health and social outcomes and promote well-being and social justice.
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09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
KAUF 179 |
| PSYC 375-01 |
Research Methods in Community Psychology Research: Program Evaluation
Instructor: Sharon Kingston
Course Description:
Community Psychology is an applied subdiscipline of psychology that uses social and behavioral science to enhance the well-being of people and their communities and to prevent harmful outcomes. In this course, students will learn how to conduct a program evaluation, one of the primary research methods used in community psychology. Program evaluation uses social science research methods to systematically collect information that can be used to improve social, educational and health services. Although community psychologists use many different methodologies (including field experiments, quasi-experimental methods, correlational research and qualitative research), this intensive class will focus on program evaluation because it is one of the most commonly used methods in community psychology and is considered a core competency for community psychologists. This is a community-based research class and we will be partnering with a community agency to evaluate their services. Three hours classroom plus three hours laboratory a week. Prerequisites: 210 & 211. Community Psychology is an applied subdiscipline of psychology that uses social and behavioral science to enhance the well-being of people and their communities and to prevent harmful outcomes. In this course, students will learn how to conduct a program evaluation, one of the primary research methods used in community psychology. Program evaluation uses social science research methods to systematically collect information that can be used to improve social, educational and health services. Although community psychologists use many different methodologies (including field experiments, quasi-experimental methods, correlational research and qualitative research), this intensive class will focus on program evaluation because it is one of the most commonly used methods in community psychology and is considered a core competency for community psychologists. This is a community-based research class and we will be partnering with a community agency to evaluate their services. Three hours classroom plus three hours laboratory a week. Prerequisites: 210 & 211.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
KAUF 185
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
KAUF 185 |
| PSYC 475-02 |
Seminar in Community Psychology
Instructor: Howard Rosen
Course Description:
This course is an advanced seminar that focuses in depth on special topics in the field of community psychology. The practice of community psychology is typically directed toward the design and evaluation of strategies aimed at preventing psychological disorders, promoting self-help, mutual aid and empowerment for marginalized communities and promoting social justice and change. The goal is to optimize the well-being of individuals and communities with innovative and alternative interventions designed in collaboration with affected community members and with other related disciplines inside and outside of psychology. Topics may include substance abuse and addiction, serious mental illness, delinquency, stress and coping, prevention vs. intervention, and social support. This is service learning course. Students will develop their understanding of topical issues by reading and synthesizing primary and secondary sources, participating in class discussions and applied exercises, and participating in a service learning project in partnership with community service or advocacy agencies. Prerequisites: 210 & 211. This course is an advanced seminar that focuses in depth on special topics in the field of community psychology. The practice of community psychology is typically directed toward the design and evaluation of strategies aimed at preventing psychological disorders, promoting self-help, mutual aid and empowerment for marginalized communities and promoting social justice and change. The goal is to optimize the well-being of individuals and communities with innovative and alternative interventions designed in collaboration with affected community members and with other related disciplines inside and outside of psychology. Topics may include substance abuse and addiction, serious mental illness, delinquency, stress and coping, prevention vs. intervention, and social support. This is service learning course. Students will develop their understanding of topical issues by reading and synthesizing primary and secondary sources, participating in class discussions and applied exercises, and participating in a service learning project in partnership with community service or advocacy agencies. Prerequisites: 210 & 211.
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01:30 PM-04:30 PM, M
KAUF 178 |
| Courses Offered in SPAN |
| SPAN 239-01 |
Spanish for the Health Professions
Instructor: Jorge Sagastume
Course Description:
Cross-listed with LALC 239-01.
This course prepares students to use Spanish meaningfully in real-world health contexts by combining classroom learning with direct service. This is a space where linguistic, cultural, ethical, and social knowledge come together. Through reflection, reading, and a sustained partnership with the Beacon Clinic, students build the vocabulary, cultural awareness, and interpersonal skills required to serve Spanish-speaking communities with empathy and clarity. By applying Spanish in healthcare settings, students confront the complexities of power, equity, and responsibility, especially in the context of migration, labor, and structural inequality.Prerequisite: 202 or 205. This course is cross-listed as LALC 239.
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11:30 AM-12:45 PM, MF
LIBRY ALDEN |
| Courses Offered in THDA |
| THDA 215-01 |
The Thinking Body: Human Movement and Anatomy
Instructor: Erin Woods-Burke
Course Description:
This course employs an experiential approach to the science and expressive potential of human movement. It is meant to give students a foundation in anatomy and kinesiology basics. Simultaneously, significant time will be spent in explorations designed to deepen body-mind connections. We will focus on the act of embodiment - how does factual knowledge of the body help us move more efficiently and utilize healthy biomechanics? Through course readings, movement exercises, guest lectures, writing, partnered activities and self-directed independent studio time, we will connect how broad analytical frameworks of the human body apply to the personal and individual experience of movement. This course employs an experiential approach to the science and expressive potential of human movement. It is meant to give students a foundation in anatomy and kinesiology basics. Simultaneously, significant time will be spent in explorations designed to deepen body-mind connections. We will focus on the act of embodiment - how does factual knowledge of the body help us move more efficiently and utilize healthy biomechanics? Through course readings, movement exercises, guest lectures, writing, partnered activities and self-directed independent studio time, we will connect how broad analytical frameworks of the human body apply to the personal and individual experience of movement.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
2527WH DANCE STU |
| Courses Offered in WGSS |
| WGSS 208-01 |
Sex, Science, and Culture: Intro to Sexuality Studies
Instructor: Charity Fox
Course Description:
This course explores how practices, identities, behaviors, and representations of sexualities shape and are shaped by scientific discourses as well as political, cultural, social, religious, medical and economic practices of societies across time and space. We will put sexuality at the center of analysis, but will develop understandings of sexuality as they are related to sex, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, nationality, and geographical location. We will investigate the construction of identities, the shifting definitions of "normal" in gender, sex, and sexuality, and the implications of these changes for marginalized communities, with the aim of fostering a nuanced appreciation of the social construction of sexualities and the ongoing dialogues that shape our lived experiences today. Students will explore the historical and social processes through which diverse behaviors are and are not designated as sexual. They will then analyze how these designations influence a range of institutional forces and social phenomena. Topics will vary depending on instructor but may include: medicine, environmentalism, colonialism and nation-building, STI and HIV transmission, public health campaigns, art and literary production, visual and popular culture, community development, family structure, human rights frameworks, and law or policy.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
DENNY 212 |