Based on our student Town Hall meetings in Summer 2020, we proposed and received approval for the two new courses below:
SAR HS332/CAS BI332: Analyzing Bias and Discrimination in Medicine, Health, and Science (2 credits).
This was a joint effort between BAC (Angela Seliga) and SAR faculty (Dustin Allen, Elizabeth Co, Shannon Peters, and Lisa Roberts) and will be co-taught by these instructors.
Course Description: In this class, we will take a scientific approach, within an antiracist, anti-imperialist, intersectional framework, to uncover these instances, commit to confronting these injustices, and discuss how to move forward. We will work together to develop skills to help us recognize discrimination in our surroundings, understand systemic patterns of oppression, self-reflect on our own implicit biases, and advocate for social change. Not every conversation will be easy or comfortable, however we must acknowledge the historical roots and modern-day perpetuation of discrimination in our field and work together to make it more equitable and just. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community. 2 cr. Spring 2022.
2.) ENG BF 510: Institutional Racism in Health and Science
Historically, pseudoscientific theories have provided the justification for establishing and maintaining racial hierarchies, which resulted in centuries of dehumanizing and unethical practices meted out to Blacks, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Unfortunately, many of these pernicious ideas persist, such that they hinder BIPOC’s opportunities in Science and exacerbate their health outcomes.
This course traces the historical roots (e.g. mischaracterization of race as a biological construct) and physiological manifestations of racism in science, and examines harmful consequences on victims’ health outcomes.
Prereq: MSc./PhD. program standing in Bioinformatics, Biology, BU Wheelock MSc. in Education for Equity and Democracy, or consent of the instructor.
Instructor: Osborne; Credits: 4; LEC: (A1) Mon/Wed/Fri 2:30 pm – 3:20 pm