HIST 259 Health on the Move: Immigrant and Refugee Resilience
This course traces the intersection of U.S. migration and health histories from the late nineteenth century to the present. The course will be organized around historical case studies including medical inspection and quarantine of Southern and Eastern European and Asian immigrants at Ellis and Angel Islands and Mexicans at the U.S. border in the 1890s-1930s; race and epidemics in early twentieth century cities; mental health of European and Latin American political refugees in the post-World War II era; farm worker health and environmental justice movements since the 1960s; forced deportation of Caribbean migrants for HIV-positive status during the AIDS pandemic; maternal and reproductive health in post-1990s detention centers; and mutual aid during the COVID-19 crisis, among others. Taken together, students will discern how migration serves as a determinant of health, and also learn about migrant resilience despite structural violence. The themes of medical racism and scapegoating, contagion narratives, occupational health, health movements, cross-cultural health communication, and medical citizenship will anchor course units. With particular attention to the analytical categories of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class, the course posits that history can make a critical contribution to our understanding of health inequities and to the development of migrant health justice. Students will gain skills in archival research, oral history methodologies, and digital storytelling, and they will be given the opportunity to participate in community-based engagement.
Cross Listed Courses
LLAS 259