Last updated: 2023-11-20 11:43:42.65961
The idea of discussion questions is just to get you focused on reading the papers before class, and to help structure the in-class discussion. Ideally you should come up with one question that’s general or conceptual and one that’s more technical (what does Figure 1 mean? how did they do xxx?). Unless otherwise specified, every Friday class will be a discussion. Discussion questions are due at 6 PM on the day before a class discussion (i.e. Friday afternoon at 6 PM for a Monday discussion), posted to the relevant place; late answers are definitely better than nothing. Discussion questions will be marked on a 0-10 scale.
A “mini-essay” is a 2-3 page paper (500-750 words; please double-space and use a 10-12 point font) that tries to develop an original idea, somehow related to the topic of the course and (perhaps) to the topics being covered in class at the moment. I don’t want an essay reporting on a paper you read in class or in the library, although if you want to develop a new idea based on something you read that’s OK. (Try not to spend more than a paragraph of your essay introducing outside material, leaving most of the essay to develop your own ideas.)
The goal is to give you practice thinking and writing in an informal, (hopefully) low-pressure setting.
I would like the essays to express your ideas clearly and to be written well, but don’t stress out about the writing: think of it more as an opportunity to practice. Creativity is important, but so is rigorous and logical argument (for later essays, I may add more structure – for example, “come up with an idea and then discuss how you might test it with an experiment or an observation”).
Also see the sections on Writing, Referencing, and Citations in the intro notes from the first day of class.
I’d also encourage you to read Perry Jr. (1997) for fun and insight.
Some mini-essay topics invented by past students:
could children be considered as parasites on their parents?
how is the population of benign symbionts controlled by other symbionts and by the immune system? does understanding these mechanisms help us understand what happens when a formerly benign symbiont causes disease?
how do hosts adapt to minimize the impact of parasites?
how do host behavioral changes to disease that decrease host fitness - through increased predation, failure to reproduce, etc. - change host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics?
is the specificity of primate parasites in the tropics governed mostly by population size, or more by differences in digestive morphology and physiology?
Pick three related papers about a parasite/ID eco/evo topic of your choice (it doesn’t have to be something we’ve covered in class, but it must be eco/evo-related, not just about ID generally [e.g. topics that are entirely about immunology, or pharmacology, or public health, would not count] and write a 1-2 page (single-spaced) paper that describes the topic and synthesizes the results of the paper. You should make sure that your paper is not of the form “paper A says …; paper B says …; paper C says …”. What points do the papers make, and what kind(s) of data do they present to support their points? How are the papers related? Do they agree or disagree? Do they build on each other, or discuss different aspects of the same topic, or tackle the topic at different levels (e.g. models, lab experiments, field experiments)?
Pick a topic that we have covered in class (including from the discussions) where you felt like you’d like to go a little bit deeper into the topic. Find 2-3 papers that go deeper into that topic and discuss how they relate to the class material (i.e., do they go beyond/extend, or answer questions that were unresolved, or … ?). 2-3 pages, double-spaced.
The term paper can be on any topic of your choice having to do with the ecology or evolution of infectious disease or parasites. You can focus on a particular parasite, or a particular host-parasite system, or a general phenomenon that’s illustrated by several different host-parasite systems … It should be 10-15 pages long and give a clear, well-written synthesis and discussion of past and current research on the topic. It should cover concepts as well as facts/natural history; for example, how does some particular host-parasite example illustrate some of the concepts discussed in class? This is a chance for you to go into some depth. Ideally, your paper will also include at least some discussion of the open questions or future directions in the field.
I expect most of the references to be articles in the peer-reviewed literature; some books and a few web URLs are acceptable. Everything should be properly cited in the style of your choice.
(most of these are evolutionary topics but there’s no reason not to pick a more ecological topic …)
Work in a group to write a paper describing a fictional (but realistic) emerging disease. It could have a human, non-human animal, or plant origin. Give basic natural history and biological details such as:
Flesh out the details: why is the disease spreading now? Does it have biological characteristics that make it particularly interesting? Are there significant behavioral, ecosystem, economic, cultural impacts? With your group, write up a 4-5 page (double-spaced) description.
The midterm test will consist of definitions, short-answer questions, and essay questions. You will be given a large set of essay questions beforehand, some of which will be asked on the midterm.
You should know a variety of examples so that you can use them in your short answers and essays.
This is a low-stakes test to encourage you to pay attention to ideas that are presented after the midterm test (there is no final exam). It will (probably) consist of definitions, short-answers, and maybe an essay.