Course Modules
This course is organized around six thematic modules, each exploring a different dimension of how illness shapes—and is shaped by—society.
Module Format
Each module unfolds over four sessions that begin with tuberculosis and expand outward—connecting lived experience, disciplinary expertise, and collaborative problem-solving.
Session 1: Focus on TB
We begin with tuberculosis—drawing from Everything Is Tuberculosis and occasionally other interdisciplinary materials to explore the module's theme.
Session 2: Guest Dialogue
A guest joins us to deepen our understanding of the topic. Guests may be storytellers, practitioners, scholars, or community leaders.
Session 3: Beyond TB
We expand to a non-TB case study that illustrates how the same dynamics show up in other contexts—across diseases, geographies, or populations.
Session 4: Collaborative Application
Teams synthesize insights from both TB and non-TB cases through applied projects—mapping systems, designing interventions, or building new frameworks.
Module 1: Seeing Illness
Weeks 1–2 (Sessions 1–6)Illness as biological, narrative, and social experience
We begin by asking: What is illness, and what does it mean to live with it, witness it, or measure it?
This foundational module introduces students to tuberculosis (TB) as both a biological disease and a social condition. We explore the basic microbiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis—how it spreads, what it does in the body, and how it becomes latent or active. Alongside this, we examine how illness is interpreted through personal stories, cultural narratives, and social systems.
Module 2: How the World Got Sick
Weeks 3–5 (Sessions 7–10)Colonialism, capitalism, and the historical roots of disease
How did tuberculosis—and other diseases—become global and later become global health disparities? In this module, students trace the origins of today's health inequities through histories of empire, extractive economies, and environmental transformation. We explore how industrialization, racial capitalism, and urban planning created conditions for TB to thrive, and how medical systems were built to serve some populations over others.
Module 3: Stories of Survival
Weeks 6–7 (Sessions 11–14)Patient experiences, resilience, and the emotional landscape of care
What does it mean to survive tuberculosis—not just biologically, but emotionally, socially, and spiritually? In this module, we listen closely to those who have lived with TB and those who have tried to care for them. Their stories offer powerful insight into the daily realities of illness: the strain of misdiagnosis, the trauma of isolation, the exhaustion of caregiving, and the moral weight of making decisions under conditions of scarcity.
Module 4: Diagnosing the System
Weeks 8–9 (Sessions 15–18)Health systems, scientific discovery, and implementation failures
What counts as a cure? What happens when systems break down? This module shifts focus from individuals to the infrastructures that shape health outcomes—labs, clinics, funding agencies, and policy regimes. We trace the arc from Robert Koch's identification of M. tuberculosis to the World Health Organization's DOTS strategy and beyond, examining what scientific discovery means in a political world.
Module 5: Healing Together
Weeks 10–11 (Sessions 19–22)Community care, access, and interdisciplinary solutions
How do people make care systems work—especially when official systems fall short? This module centers community health workers, social movements, and local leadership in delivering effective care. Students explore case studies from around the world—including Durham—to understand how team science, structural competency, and supply chain design contribute to resilient health systems.
Module 6: Imagining Otherwise
Weeks 12–14 (Sessions 23–26)Building just and equitable futures in global health
What could global health look like if we built it differently? Our final module challenges students to imagine alternative futures for health equity. Drawing on lessons from TB, we explore how climate change, conflict, and migration intersect with disease, including TB and beyond. Students use tools from policy design, futures thinking, and narrative strategy to propose new visions for global health rooted in justice and sustainability.