History of Race and Racism in Science and Medicine
Course Description
The concept of “race” is widely misunderstood and misused, and understanding its history and role in racism is crucial to understanding our society and healthcare systems. This course explores the concept of race as a socio-political construct which has changed throughout history and created hierarchies to justify racism. It critiques understandings of race that falsely claim to be scientific by emphasizing inaccurate biological or genetic differences between supposed racial groups. It highlights how these beliefs have caused harm in the of medicine (including continuing contemporary impacts) and what we can do to combat this racism in our own work today.
Objectives
- Understand the way medicine/science has been used to create and further racism
- Understand the history of the creation of racial categories and hierarchy, particularly by physicians, and how that framework is still used in modern medicine
- Recognize race as a social and political construct
- Explain how and why race is not biological or genetic
