Race, Racism, and Health

Here are some ideas/questions to ponder regarding this week's readings on race, racism, and health.

1. Compare and contrast the "practical results of the attitude of most of the inhabitants of Philadelphia towards persons of Negro descent" offered by W.E.B. Du Bois (see "Color Prejudice") with the ways in which segregation can affect health articulated by David Williams (see his presentation posted on CourseWorks).

2. How do you understand Nancy Krieger's metaphor of "the spider"? Why did David Williams invoke her classic paper, "Epidemiology and the web of causation: Has anyone seen the spider?" in his presentation on race, racism, and health? What do you believe he considers the spider to be?

Finally, a tribute to my former departmental chair Richard Parker will be held from 1-3 pm on Wednesday, March 25, and the reception immediately following this event will be held--yep--in our classroom. Since the class topic that day is, "Urbanization and globalization: The challenge of complexity" and Richard Parker's work involves global public health, this is not such a bad fit in some ways, but it does conflict with students' other courses/responsibilities and transportation times. Let's discuss ways to accomodate the structural challenge/opportunity in class on Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to seeing you and hearing your ideas then, Mary