MI 18SC Measles and Sneezles and Things That Go Mumps in the Night


Robert Siegel Department of Microbiology and Immunology Prerequisite: Strong motivation to learn and have fun.


is the fact that measles is the most contagious disease agent ever studied. This course will look at measles and its relatives in the paramyxovirus family, including mumps, respiratory syncytial virus, hendra, and nipah as well as a number of important animal pathogens. We will use the paramyxoviruses as a paradigm to gain general insights into the nature of viruses. We will look at 1) the history of this devastating group of pathogens; 2) basic aspects of paramyxovirus taxonomy and molecular virology; 3) viral epidemiology, emergence, and eradication including the pioneering studies of Peter Panum; 4) the use, misuse, and abuse of science; 5) the interactions between pathogen and host and how this interplay leads to disease including the appearance of a bizarre brain complication with 100% mortality; and 6) the politics and economics of infection. We will devote a fair bit of time to examining how a putative link between the measles vaccine and autism entered the public eye, and how it refuses to disappear - despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Field trips will focus on historical aspects of measles as well as current research into the ways in which paramyxoviruses can be detected and controlled. Guest speakers will include experts in public health, clinical medicine, and the economics of disease, as well as representatives from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Class time will be devoted to lectures, discussions, and student presentations. Students will also be expected to write a brief policy paper and contribute to the class blog and the class Twitter account. No science background is necessary and all majors are welcome, but you will encounter a fair bit of biology necessary to make informed policy choices.


U Robert Siegel,


M.D., Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Program in Human Biology, and the Center for African Studies. He teaches classes on virology, Darwin, international health, and photography, and has won numerous teaching and advising awards including the Gores Award and the ASSU Teaching Award. He was a Stanford undergraduate and earned two of his four graduate degrees at Stanford (M.A. in education and M.D.). More


ntil recently, measles was one of the leading causes of death in the world. Contributing to its feared reputation


ENGLISH 15SC Mixed Race in the New Millennium: Crossings of Kin, Culture, and Faith in the 21st Century


Michele Elam Department of English


gave this demographic a name: Generation E.A. (Ethnically Ambiguous). Our course examines the political and aesthetic implications of Generation E.A. We will look at the hot new vogue for “mixed race,” examining contemporary images of mixed race as represented in literature, art, performance, film, Internet, and popular culture. Galvanized by the 2000 census with its offer of a “mark one or more” (MOOM) racial option to check, mixed race advocates have acquired legal leverage and national recognition in the last decade. Dozens of organizations, websites, affinity and advocacy groups, modeling and casting agencies, television pilots, magazines, and journals--all focused on the mixed race and cross-cultural experience--have emerged in the last few years. Clearly all these cultural and legal events are changing the way we talk and think not only about race but also crossings and mixings across gender, nation, religion, and socioeconomic experience. Assignments explore the current controversies over mixed race identification and also the expressive and political possibilities for representing complex identities: requirements include three two to three-page analytical writing assignments and an individualized project. (Students can choose two options for this project: artistic project or written narrative.)


R Michele Elam


is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor of English and past Director of the Program in African & African American Studies. She is the author of Race, Work, and Desire in American Literature, 1860-1930 (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and The Souls of Mixed Folks (Stanford University Press, 2011), and is currently working on a book on post-race and post- apartheid performance in the U.S. and South Africa. More


ecently, a New York Times article identified the vanguard of the future as young, global, and hybrid. The article


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