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Disease and Security
UoS Code CISS6004
Credit points 6
Offered Semester 1
Prerequisites
Corequisites
Prohibitions
Assumed Knowledge
Additional Information
Lectures 3hrs per week
Assessment Essay; exam; participation
Description This unit assesses the political and security significance of infectious diseases. Whether one contemplates historical experiences with smallpox, plague and cholera, or the contemporary challenges posed by new diseases like HIV/AIDS and SARS, it is clear that pathogenic micro-organisms exercise a powerful influence over civilized humankind. The unit concentrates on areas in which human health and security concerns intersect most closely, including: biological weapons proliferation; responses to fast-moving disease outbreaks of natural origin; safety and security in microbiology laboratories; and the relationships between infectious disease patterns, public health capacity, state functioning and violent conflict. The overall aim of the unit is to provide students with a stronger understanding of the scientific and political nature of these problems, why and how they might threaten security, and the conceptual and empirical connections between them.