This course explores the natural history of human excrement. Human waste is something that we are all intimately familiar with, yet rarely discuss (or at least, we rarely admit to discussing it). But, it tells an incredible story about our lives and our interactions with the environment. We study ancient feces to learn about diet and health in the past; we look at cross-cultural studies to understand different types of contemporary waste disposal and cultural understanding of human waste; we learn about the gut microbiome, which may influence our emotions; we study our closest living relatives and their relationship with bodily waste.
This course fulfills one of the six content area requirements for the B.A. in Health, Medicine, and Society.
