The Focus Program offers first- and second-year undergraduate students the opportunity to approach topics from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The program features interdisciplinary seminar clusters, small group seminars, shared housing among Focus students, and integrated learning experiences on-campus and in the community.
Eleven interdisciplinary course clusters are scheduled for 2008-2009, and two are affiliated with University Institutes and Centers (UICs).
The Genome Revolution & Its Impact on Society
The goal of this cluster is to explore the "Genome Revolution" in its many forms and help students begin to understand the social, cultural, and scientific meaning of genomic advances and the questions such advances pose for our collective future. Each of the courses in the cluster will explore the theme from a different perspective, with the result that students will be exposed to the complexity of the subject and will develop an enhanced understanding of the issues that we face as a society and as individuals. This cluster is designed for students with widely varied interests, ranging from humanities students with little science background, to potential science majors who hope to understand the scientific and social implications of their future work.
Find more info on the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy (IGSP) website: http://genome.duke.edu/education/undergraduate/focus-program-cluster.php
Global Health: Local & International Disparities
This cluster will guide students as they explore the following questions: Why are some infectious diseases easier to control or eliminate than others? How do we gather information and test hypotheses about the population–level determinants of human health and disease? In what instances has international law been a positive force for addressing these inequalities and when has the law itself compounded and extended the problem? What does economics have to say about why people engage in unhealthy behavior?
This cluster will train students to identify factors that influence individual and population–level health in the United States and abroad. We will examine the biological, legal, economic and social underpinnings of the spread and reduction of diseases by using case studies of global infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS as well as chronic diseases such as mental health disorders, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease. This cluster will also examine the transition from a predominantly infectious diseases health burden to a chronic and behavioral disease burden.
Find more info on the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) website: http://globalhealth.duke.edu/education/degrees/focus