Course Details

This 5-credit seminar follows the journalistic path of author Rebecca Skloot and her uncovering the plight of Henrietta Lacks, an impoverished African American woman whose immortal cells were remove by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Research Center in 1951. A historical context as addressed for understanding how corporate values have absorbed the mission of health and social justice within academic research institutions. The commodification of human tissues emerges as a product of capitalism and the consequence co-optation of integrity within academic research centers.
Course Requirements: A complete critical reading of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown, 2010) and not the movie. Students must fully engage each other with informed discussion and will demonstrate a deeper understanding of societal and institutional forces that framed the exploitation of Henrietta Lacks and her family. A week-by-week discussion guide provides a blueprint for presentations. Group Presentations (30%), Pop Quizzes, Final Essay (70%).