SECTION 1 (3 PAGES) Select a disease and explain how it is cultural constructed?. Do not focus on the biology of the disease. Rather, focus on the ways in which the disease is constructed outside of its biology: the words, concepts, and values embedded in a particular social, cultural, and political context. You may discuss how the disease is understood differently among different cultures or groups or you can focus on how cultural understandings lead to stigma and discrimination. Your final paper will be about 3-5 pages doubled spaced and will use a minium of 3 scholarly sources. Class readings can count as scholarly sources. This document will also provide guidance on what I am looking for in terms of submitted work. The following is a list of diseases from which you can choose. If you want to profile a disease not on this list, you need to get it approved with me. Heart disease, Tuberculosis, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alzheimers Disease, Cholera, Anorexia, Depression, Measles, Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia, Cerebral Palsy, HIV/AIDS, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Lyme disease, Binge-eating disorder, Syphilis, Mononucleosis SECTION 2 (3 PAGES) Select a disease or health care disparity that you think merits greater attention. Provide an overview of the disease, health care issue, and the nature of the disparity. You will need to explain who disproportionally suffers using quantitative data. Explain why this disparity exist. Present one possible solution. The final paper should use a minimum of three scholarly sources, one of which must be course assigned readings. Recommended length is 3-5 pages (double spaced) but aim for succinct, yet complete. SECTION 3 (3 pages) One theme of this course is that there is often a disconnect in the way people understand health. This could be a cultural misunderstanding (as in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down), a misattribution of the cause of ill-health (as in the case of individuals for their own health status), or medicalization (as in obesity or reproductive health). Find an example of a news or popular media article that has been published within the last 3 months that you think is informed by a cultural misunderstanding.
