Library Assignment: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
Tiffany Tavarez
Mr. Gilliam
INS 110
September 21, 2014
Library Assignment The topic I chose for the library assignment was “racism in medical treatment”. I felt that this topic comes up in the novel, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot multiple times and also relates to the theme “voice” which is what we have been focusing on in our First-Year Experience class. Even though the time of “racism” is over, there are still acts of discrimination in the field of medicine. Many doctors and even more, patients, have been treated unfairly based on their race. Patients have been misdiagnosed or given a false diagnosis in order for the doctors to make money off of them because the doctor could care less about their health.
Discrimination also causes the patients to act differently because of their “race”. This relates to the theme, “voice” because some people who are discriminated against are unable to properly defend themselves leaving them without a voice just like Henrietta Lacks. This topic is interesting to me because before I read this book I didn’t give any of this much thought. I didn’t think that doctors, people that are there to help us, would discriminate against people and treat them differently. It made me want to do more research and see how many people have gone through things like this.
1. What evidence can we find that shows acts of racism in the book?
2. What outside evidence is there of racial discrimination in medical treatment
3. How does this evidence tie in with the theme “voice”
Scholarly Journal Article
1. Happe, K. E. (2006). The rhetoric of race in breast cancer research. Patterns Of Prejudice, 40(4/5), 461-480. doi:10.1080/00313220601020171
2. Shariff-Marco, S., Klassen, A. C., & Bowie, J. V. (2010). Racial/Ethnic Differences in Self-Reported Racism and Its Association With Cancer-Related Health Behaviors. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(2), 364-374.
Mr. Gilliam
INS 110
September 21, 2014
Library Assignment The topic I chose for the library assignment was “racism in medical treatment”. I felt that this topic comes up in the novel, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot multiple times and also relates to the theme “voice” which is what we have been focusing on in our First-Year Experience class. Even though the time of “racism” is over, there are still acts of discrimination in the field of medicine. Many doctors and even more, patients, have been treated unfairly based on their race. Patients have been misdiagnosed or given a false diagnosis in order for the doctors to make money off of them because the doctor could care less about their health.
Discrimination also causes the patients to act differently because of their “race”. This relates to the theme, “voice” because some people who are discriminated against are unable to properly defend themselves leaving them without a voice just like Henrietta Lacks. This topic is interesting to me because before I read this book I didn’t give any of this much thought. I didn’t think that doctors, people that are there to help us, would discriminate against people and treat them differently. It made me want to do more research and see how many people have gone through things like this.
1. What evidence can we find that shows acts of racism in the book?
2. What outside evidence is there of racial discrimination in medical treatment
3. How does this evidence tie in with the theme “voice”
Scholarly Journal Article
1. Happe, K. E. (2006). The rhetoric of race in breast cancer research. Patterns Of Prejudice, 40(4/5), 461-480. doi:10.1080/00313220601020171
2. Shariff-Marco, S., Klassen, A. C., & Bowie, J. V. (2010). Racial/Ethnic Differences in Self-Reported Racism and Its Association With Cancer-Related Health Behaviors. American Journal Of Public Health, 100(2), 364-374.