Cynthia Meekins
Office: Records Hall, Room 140
Office Hours: Tuesday 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Email: cynthia.meekins@ofa.rutgers.edu
Term: Spring 2014
10:832:339 Public Health Literature: 20th Century Challenges
Required Texts:
Schneider, Dona and David E. Lilienfeld, eds., Public Health: The Development of a Discipline,
Volume 2, Twentieth Century Challenges, Rutgers University Press. ISBN-10: 0813550092
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: 20th Century Challenges will focus on strengthening both form and
content of business and academic writing, as well as reinforcing research expertise and
presentation competence.
Course Requirements:
 Group Oral Presentation (10%) – There will be weekly oral presentations based on the
readings. No missed presentations may be made up for tardiness or absence. Students
will work in groups to present, and all students will be responsible for an oral component.
All reading presentations must stay within a 15 minute time period.
 Resume/Cover Letter (20%) – 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.
 Annotated Bibliography (20%) – There will be one rough draft and one two-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 (50%) – There will be a ten-to-twelve page, double-spaced 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 must be approved. 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.
Course Policies:
 All course materials (except your course textbook) will be available on
sakai.rutgers.edu. You are responsible for printing of all materials for this course.
Texts will be available in the Rutgers Bookstore or through bn.com or amazon.com.
 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.
 All course requirements must be fulfilled/submitted prior to the last day of class in order
to be eligible to earn a passing grade in this course. Missing assignments will result in a
failing term grade.
 This course fulfills the following SAS Core Curriculum Rubrics: Goal s1 (Communicate
complex ideas effectively in standard written English); Goal s2 (Respond effectively to
editorial feedback from peers and instructors through successive drafts); Goal t
(Communicate effectively in modes appropriate to a discipline or area of inquiry); Goal u
(Evaluate and critically assess sources and use the conventions of attribution and citation
correctly); Goal v (Analyze and synthesize information and ideas from multiple sources
to generate new insights).
 Students are asked to review and abide by the University’s code on plagiarism. Please
visit http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/files/documents/AI_Policy_9_01_2011.pdf
for more information.
 A copy of my grading rubric for the course is available on Sakai.
Course Schedule
Week 1 (January 23) – Topic: Resume and Cover Letter
Reading: Resume Writing Materials available on Sakai
Week 2 (January 30) – Resume rough draft due.
Reading: Cover Letter Writing Materials available on Sakai
Resume returned with feedback.
Week 3 (February 6) – Topic: Tobacco
Reading: The Carcinogenic Effects of Tobacco (68)
Final resume assignment due. Cover letter rough draft due.
Week 4 (February 13) – Mandatory Library Presentation, Douglass Library in the
Douglass Instructional Alcove, at 6:00 p.m.,
Cover letters returned with feedback.
Week 5 (February 20) – Topic: Oral Health
Cover letter final draft due.
Reading: Diet and Oral Health (142)
Week 6 (February 27) – Topic: Environmental Health
Thesis statement due – hard deadline.
Reading: The Removal of Lead from Gasoline: Historical and Personal Reflections (181)
Week 7 (March 6) – Topic: Women’s Health
Annotated Bibliography assignment due.
Reading: Introduction of the Pill and Its Impact (278)
Week 8 (March 13) – Topic: Cancer
Paper outline due
Reading: Malignant Melanoma of the Skin (509)
Week 9 (March 20) – Spring break
Week 10 (March 27) – Topic: Medical Ethics
Four page rough draft due.
Reading: Ethics and Clinical Research (655)
Kidneys, Ethics and Politics: Policy Lessons of the ESRD Experience (676)
Week 11 (April 3) – Topic: HIV/AIDS
Full final rough draft due.
Reading: AIDS – The First 20 Years (420)
Week 12 (April 10) – Topic: Vaccines
Papers returned with feedback
Reading: Rubella During Pregnancy (447)
Week 13 (April 17) – Topic: Food and Nutrition
In-class peer reviews of final papers.
Reading: The Paths to the Discovery of Vitamins A and D (18)
Week 14 (April 24) – Topic: Women’s Health
Final research paper assignment due.
Reading: A Global Overview of Gender-based Violence (288)
A Traditional Practice that Threatens Health – Female Circumcision (329)
Week 15 (May 1) – Topic: Tuberculosis
Reading: The Global Tuberculosis Situation and the New Control Strategy of the WHO (365)