The Politics of Vaccination in the Developed World by Sophie

The Politics of Vaccination in the Developed World by Sophie - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I were a college professor, my dream course to teach would be The Politics of Vaccination in the Developed World. It would combine lectures on vaccination from a public/global health perspective with an examination of current political discourse around science and “alternative facts.” The course would examine the challenges developed nations face in persuading populations to vaccinate, and include student-led debates about potential solutions to the under-vaccination problem in the United States and other developed countries. The course would also ask central questions about privilege and barriers to access: What does it mean to be able to choose not to vaccinate? Who is afforded the privilege of making this choice? Is it ethical to reject vaccination?

I would be thrilled to teach this class, because I am passionate about global health and social justice. Examining how various identities shape treatment within the healthcare system fascinates me, and has personal relevance to me as a queer female who also comes from a background of racial and socioeconomic privilege. It is also important in our current cultural moment to have discussions about the validity of science and those who seek to discredit it, as statements of fact are rapidly becoming controversial. Facilitating discourse about fact and fiction is going to be an important step going forward, and I want to be a part of it.