Additional Assignments

1. In a five- to seven-page essay, use the primary sources in this unit to explain how venereal disease control policies were shaped by societal ideas concerning gender and anxieties surrounding female sexuality. Be sure to address how the sources may conflict, depending on the author or the intended audience. In your essay, consider the following questions: What are the gender biases inherent in each source? How might these biases be shaped by the author’s sex or official capacity? What do the documents tell you about how public health policies are shaped and the state’s role in solidifying gender roles and regulating sexuality?
2. Assume the identity of a public health official, social worker, military officer, or female detainee under suspicion for a venereal disease infection. Create a digital presentation (film, PowerPoint, Web site, online pamphlet) focused on your character’s particular view on the venereal disease problem. For example, as a public health official, you may create an educational video about venereal disease in the context of World War I or you may create a Powerpoint presentation from the point of view of a woman challenging her detention for a venereal disease infection. Make sure you place yourself within the historical context and consider how your historical character would view the causes and sources of infection, as well as appropriate solutions to stopping the spread of venereal disease.