Cynthia Meekins
Office: Records Hall, Room 202
Mailbox: Murray Hall, Room 100
Email: cmeekins@rci.rutgers.edu
Phone: 609/618-5286
Public Health Literature
Fall 2010
Tuesdays 6:10-9:00 p.m.
Room: Scott 106
Office Hours: By Arrangement
10:832:339:01 Public Health Literature
Required Texts:
Jones, James, Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, revised ed., Free Press.
Schneider, Dona and David E. Lilienfeld, eds., Public Health: The Development of a Discipline,
Rutgers University Press.
Course Description:
This course is designed to familiarize students with business correspondence and academic
writing related to public health. Through a representative selection of texts,
Public Health Literature will focus on strengthening both form and content of business and
academic writing, as well as reinforcing research expertise and presentation competence.
Course Requirements:
 Resume/Cover Letter (10%) – A resume and cover letter rough draft, and a final
resume and cover letter will be required for this class on specified due dates. Please
bring two copies of your rough draft to class.
 Business Letter Assignments (10%) – Two one-page business letters will be required
on specified due dates. One full-letter grade per class will be deducted for late business
letter assignments.
 Article Review (10%) – This assignment requires one, one-page article review of public
health topics. Reviews will be required on specified date. One full-letter grade per class
will be deducted for late article reviews.
 Reading Quizzes (10%) – There will be regular pop quizzes based on the reading. No
missed quizzes may be made up for class tardiness or absence. The lowest reading quiz
grade will be dropped.
 Annotated Bibliography (20%) – There will be one rough draft and one four-tosix page annotated bibliography final assignment required on specified due dates. All
annotated bibliographies will focus on one of the public health issues considered during
the term. Topics will be assigned. One full-letter grade per day will be deducted for late
annotated bibliographies.
 Research Paper (30%) – There will be an eight-to-ten page, double-spaced final
written assignment due on a specified due date. Formal outlines, works cited, and rough
drafts for this assignment will also be required on designated dates. The topic of this
writing assignment must be on a course-related subject, and should be issue-driven.
Rather than preparing a lengthy book report or topic summary, you will be required to
research and prepare a paper discussing an issue related to public health. Topics will be
assigned. If you need help with narrowing your topic or with thesis management, please
feel free to consult with me. One full-letter grade per day will be deducted for late
research paper assignments.

In-Class Presentations (10%) – There will be one formal ten-to-fifteen minute in-class
presentation required on a specified date. Topics will be assigned. One full-letter grade
per class will be deducted for late in-class presentations.
Course Policies:
 All course materials will be available on sakai.rutgers.edu. You are responsible for
printing of all materials for this course.
 Assignments will not be accepted by way of email unless prior approval has been
granted. All written assignments must be word-processed on 8 ½ x 11-inch white paper,
and be stapled. Papers must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font, with
no more than 1” top and bottom margins and no more than 1” left and right margins.
Research papers must follow MLA standards of documentation. Failure to adhere to
these requirements will jeopardize your grade.
 According to University policy, no more than two absences are permitted for a class that
meets once weekly.
 Any lateness of more than fifteen minutes will result in being charged for one full
absence.
 Students are asked to review and abide by the University’s code on plagiarism.
Course Schedule:
Tuesday, 9/7 – Course introduction; Syllabus review
Tuesday, 9/14 – Two copies of resume rough draft due.
Topic: Poverty
Public Health, read “A Treatise on the Scurvy,” pages 73 to 79.
POVERTY PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 9/21 – Final Resume assignment due. Two copies of cover letter rough draft due.
Topic: Gender
GENDER PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 9/28 – Topic: Environment
Public Health, read “Excerpts from City of London Medical Reports,” pages 193 to 205.
Public Health, read “Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great
Britain,” pages 170 to 185. Cover letter final draft due.
ENVIRONMENT PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 10/5 – Topic: Nutrition
Pubic Health, read “The Jungle,” pages 589 to 596.
NUTRITION PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 10/12 – Business Letter Assignments due.
Topic: Sex
Public Health, read “Family Limitation,” pages 620 to 631.
SEX PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 10/19 –Article Review assignment due.
Topic: Substance Abuse
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 10/26 – Topic: Communication/Media
COMMUNICATION/MEDIA PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 11/2 – Library Presentation: Public Health Research. Second Article Review
assignment due.
Topic: Race and Ethnicity
Bad Blood, read final chapter on genocide.
RACE AND ETHNICITY PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 11/9 – Annotated Bibliography assignment due.
Topic: Occupational Health
Public Health, read “Women in the Lead Industries,” pages 632 to 667.
Public Health, read “Sanitary Condition of Hospitals,” pages 510 to 533.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 11/16 – Topic: Housing
Public Health, read “How the Other Half Lives,” pages 579 to 588.
HOUSING PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 11/23 – Topic: Health Care System
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 11/30 – Topic: Mental Health
Public Health, read “Insanity and Idiocy in Massachusetts,” pages 376 to 390.
MENTAL HEALTH PRESENTATION
Tuesday, 12/07 – Topic: Careers in Public Health
CAREERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH PRESENTATION
Final Research Paper assignment due.