Assignments & Evaluation

This course is designed to reward curiosity, effort, and engagement, not prior knowledge or disciplinary expertise.

Grade Distribution

30%
Final Project
Due by Session 25
20%
Case Studies
Drop lowest score
20%
Applications
Drop lowest score
20%
Guest Engagement
Submit questions prior to lectures
10%
Did You Read?
70% or better pass/fail

Final Assignment: "Everything is …"

This project asks you to synthesize what you've learned throughout The Air Between Us by choosing a global health issue and making a bold, layered claim about it: "Everything is _____."

Choose a global health challenge, disease, or structural issue that we did not explore in depth in class (e.g., sickle cell disease, menstrual stigma, prison health, air conditioning, dengue, PTSD, unsafe abortion, zoonotic spillover, etc.). Craft a project that makes the case for your framing that "Everything is ____." You will support your framing with interdisciplinary analysis, narrative, systems thinking, and creativity.

Format Options

Podcast Episode

Create a 6–8 minute podcast episode that explores your "Everything is __" framing. Use narration, interviews, ambient sound, and/or audio clips to tell a compelling story about a global health issue—revealing its hidden systems, histories, and human stakes.

Short Film or Video Essay

Create a 3–5 minute short film or video essay that explores your "Everything is __" framing. Use a mix of storytelling, voiceover, interviews, visuals, and/or archival material to reveal how a global health issue is shaped by history, systems, and society—not just biology.

Design a Communication Campaign

Develop a public-facing communication campaign inspired by your "Everything is __" framing. Your goal is to raise awareness, shift perception, or mobilize action around a global health issue—not for experts, but for a specific audience of your choice.

Diagnostic Tool Reimagined

Take a health screening tool or global health metric (e.g., BMI, DALY, maternal mortality ratio) and redesign it to reflect equity, context, or care. Include a 1-page rationale.

House Course Design

Create a proposal for a new Duke House Course inspired by your "Everything is __" framing. Your job is to translate what you've learned in this course into a 0.5 credit course you could teach to peers.

All projects must include a brief (~300-word) creator's statement explaining your creative and analytical choices, disciplines drawn on, and course connections.

Scoring Rubric

Category Points What We're Looking For
Framing and Insight 25
  • Clear and original "Everything is __" framing
  • Demonstrates deep understanding of the topic through an interdisciplinary lens
  • Explores not just what the issue is, but why it matters
Connection to Course Themes 20
  • Synthesizes ideas from at least 2 course modules or readings
  • Applies course methods (narrative, systems, structural critique, ethics)
  • Explicitly connects framing to class discussions or activities
Creativity and Format Execution 20
  • Thoughtful use of the chosen medium
  • Makes use of format-specific strengths
  • Engaging, accessible, and polished
Audience Awareness 15
  • Identifies and speaks effectively to a specific audience
  • Tone, language, and design choices are appropriate and intentional
Reflection and Rationale 10
  • Creator's statement clearly explains project choices
  • Reflects on what was learned and how the format reveals something new
Overall Quality and Effort 10
  • Demonstrates care, preparation, and depth of engagement
  • Clean, cohesive, and technically complete

Other Assignment Types

Case Studies

Each module includes a case study that expands beyond tuberculosis to explore similar dynamics in other health contexts. These help you make connections and transfer insights across different disease frames.

Turn in at the end of class session. Lowest score is dropped.

Applications

Collaborative exercises where teams synthesize insights from both TB and non-TB cases. Projects include mapping systems, designing interventions, composing reflective narratives, or building new frameworks for action.

Turn in at the end of class session. Lowest score is dropped.

Guest Engagement

For each guest speaker, submit one thoughtful question prior to the lecture. This helps you engage actively with our visitors and shapes our class discussions.

Submit 1 question prior to 5 out of 6 guest lectures.

Did You Read?

Brief check-ins at the start of some sessions to ensure you're keeping up with the readings. These are designed to be straightforward if you've done the reading.

1-question check-in. 70% or better is pass/fail.