A.
"Search for the cause [of disease] may be a hopeless pursuit because most disease states are the indirect outcome of a constellation of circumstances rather than the direct result of single determinant factors."
                    René Dubos, Mirage of Health (1959)

By using at least three incidents of disease (from readings, book presentations, and class discussions) explain, illustrate and analyze Dubos's warning. What constitutes the "constellation of circumstances" in each incident? What factors do the incidents share in common? And, in what ways is each "constellation" unique? 

B.
"In some ways disease does not exist until we have agreed that it does, by perceiving, naming, and responding to it."                  

"Perceptions of disease are context specific, but also context determining." 

"Disease classifications serve to rationalize, mediate, and legitimate relationships and institutions in a bureaucratic society."
                   Charles Rosenberg, Framing Disease (1992)

In what ways does Lia Lee's story (told in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down) illustrate the interpretation of disease expressed in these three quotes? And/or how does the story of the Hmong child raise questions about Rosenberg's perspective drawn from the study of history?

DUE FEBRUARY 10

Submission: In class or electronically, as an email attachment.

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Citations:

For direct quotes put (author and page number) in body of text; as in Fadiman says "blah, blah, blah" (Fadiman, p. 3).