Going Viral: Sex and Disease Through the Ages (IP)
Fall (7 to 10.5 hours) | Available (Membership Required)
This registration page is for the in-person option for this course.
“Social diseases” have exacted a large toll on humanity, both at the individual as well as the population levels. They have affected many notable people over the centuries and have affected our history in many ways. These diseases have been particularly difficult to prevent and control because of the political, social, and behavioral stigmas associated with them. Perhaps the fact that the name for these diseases — such as social diseases, VD, STD, and STI — continues to evolve is indicative of our changing attitudes and understandings of them. This course intends to familiarize learners about diseases that are spread through sexual contact. Background information will be provided on the clinical aspects of the diseases as well as their epidemiologies. We will then examine social co-factors that affect and shape prevention and control efforts; the changes in societal attitudes as depicted in the arts; and how social attitudes have affected and continue to impact prevention and control efforts.
This course will combine lecture with class discussions.
Paul Etkind
Paul Etkind is a retired applied public health epidemiologist who concentrated primarily on infectious diseases. He worked at the local, state, and national levels and continues to be active professionally. He is active with teaching in Osher at Dartmouth as well as at AIL, governance within Eastman in Grantham and the Upper Valley Jewish Community in Hanover, the Sherlock Holmes Club of the Upper Valley, and by writing letters to the editor.