Body Politics: Health Activism in Modern America

¿Medicare for All¿ has become a rallying cry for those calling for reform of the American health care system. But this slogan is only the most recent political expression of the conviction that health care ought to be a right and not a privilege, part of an ongoing project to expand access to health care to all Americans. This course will examine key moments in the history of health care reform movements in the twentieth-century United States, considering the successes and failures of advocates, activists, and reformers who have sought to transform the medical system and secure equal access to care. Among the topics we will consider as we move through the century are proposals for a national health insurance program; the fight against racial discrimination in public health and medicine; the women¿s health movement; the disability rights movement; and efforts of AIDS activists to reshape the production of biomedical knowledge. Students will work throughout the quarter on a research-based project on a topic of interest to them, culminating in a final paper and presentation.