COURSE GOALS: This is an eclectic course that provides information about
alcohol in several
areas. A selected social history of the uses and abuses of alcohol
is offered in the form of
snapshots of specific time periods. The emphasis throughout different
eras is upon the changing
attitudes toward alcohol. A review of biological and chemical
implications of alcohol use is
carried out with the focus on the health impact, positive and negative.
The disease model of
alcoholism is explored and the debate over it is studied. Special
populations and their relationship
to alcohol are analyzed with an emphasis on college student drinking.
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Alcohol is a Janus-faced drink! It destroys users and
innocents as well
as providing pleasure and entertainment to users and innocents. Accordingly,
humor appears
upon occasion and should not be regarded as a lack of sensitivity to
problems associated with
tragic events often related to alcohol use and abuse.
BOOKS: the following have been ordered at the LU bookstore, all are paperbacks.
1. Thomas R. Pegram, Battling Demon Rum, (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998)
2. P. Clayton Rivers, Alcohol and Human Behavior (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1994)
3. Caroline Knapp, Drinking/ a love story (New York: Delta, 1996)
ARTICLES: The following articles are available at Price Hall. The cost is $1.00.
1. Jessica Warner, “Before There Was ‘Alcoholism’: Lessons from the
Medieval Experience
with Alcohol” Contemporary Drug Problems
V 6, 19 # 3
2. J. R. McIntosh, “Gin Craze Material 1990, 2001
ADDITIONAL READINGS: these articles can be downloaded using the electronic
resources of
our library. JSTOR or e-journals are the best avenues for downloading
copies of these articles.
1. I. F. Newman, "Some Notes on Foods and dietetics in the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries" Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland vol.
76, issue 1 (1946) pp 39 - 49
2. Marie Kimball, "Some Genial Old Drinking Customs"
William and Mary Quarterly third
series, vol. 2 issue 4 (Oct 1945) pp 349 - 358
3. Ian R. Tyrrell, "Drink and Temperance in the Antebellum
South: An Overview and
Interpretation" The Journal of Southern
History Vol. 48, issue 4 (Nov 1982) pp 485 - 510
4. Joseph R. Gusfield, "Social Structure and Moral Reform:
A Study of the Woman" Christian
Temperance Union" American Journal of Sociology
Vol. 61, issue 3 (Nov 1955) pp 221 - 232
5. Mary Murphy, "Bootlegging Mothers and Drinking Daughters:
Gender and Prohibition in
Butte, Montana" American Quarterly
Vol 46, issue 2 (June, 1994) pp 174 - 194
6. David E. Kyvig, "Women Against Prohibition" American
Quarterly Vol 28, issue 4 (Autumn,
1976) pp 465 -482
For articles 7 - 14 use the following Internet address: <http://www.NIAAA.nih.gov>
from the
home page click "ALCOHOL ALERT" and using the number and title download
the assignment.
Each is a 3 - 5 page article.
7. #46 "Are Women More Vulnerable to Alcohol's Effects?" 8. #35 "Alcohol Metabolism
9. #28 "Alcohol and Tolerance" 10. #45 "Alcohol and Coronary Heart Disease"
11. #41 "Alcohol and Sleep" 12. #44 "Alcohol and the Workplace"
13. Stanton Peele, “The Cultural Context of Psychological Approaches
to Alcoholism”
American Psychologist, 39, pp 1337 - 1351 (1984)
Internet address: two ways -
<http://www.Peele.net/lib/approach.html> or go to <drug library.org>
and click on Stanton
Peele and select the article.
The Internet address for these two articles is <http://www.edc.org/hec/>
This is the home page
of The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.
Click on publications
and scroll down to the articles. I recommend that you click “plain
text” when you download
them.
14. W. DeJong, “Environmental Management: A Comprehensive Strategy
for Reducing Alcohol
and Other Drug Use on College
Campuses” pp 1 - 20
15. Michael Haines, “A Social Norms Approach to Preventing Binge
Drinking at Colleges and
Universities” Note: download pp
1 - 15. (16 - 23 is a questionnaire used by the author.)
Please note that additional assignments may be made as needed!
GRADING: There will be four exams, each of equal value; the final
exam will not be
cumulative. A student must have a passing grade (60 or better)
on these exams to pass the
course. Extra credit may be earned by doing a paper or project.
You must discuss your ideas
with me and turn in your work by APRIL 18TH . Extra credit
is applied only to those passing
the course. In other words, you are required to master the course
material at a minimum
level in order to enhance your final grade with extra work. The
exams are scheduled for
Feb 19,
March 26, April 25, and the final at the pleasure of the registrar.
ATTENDANCE: While no attendance is taken on a regular basis, you are
responsible for the
material covered in class. Being absent frequently means you
are likely to miss the opportunity
to earn bonus points that I occasionally provide. Exams questions
will be equally divided
between course material and reading assignments.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
Jan 17 & 19 Introduction - expectations, disclaimers
and the answer to the question on
everyone’s mind: “did people once live by beer alone?” Fermentation
of beer and wine
Assignment: Rivers book, ch 1, Newman article,
22 - 24 - 26 Alcohol in Antiquity, early hangover cures, the appearance
of the “Brownies” and
other efforts to control excessive drinking; the gin craze
Assignments: Warner article, McIntosh material, Kimball article,
29 - 31 - Feb 2 Pilgrims and Puritans and social control;
serious binge drinking and the rise of
nascent temperance movement; Washingtonians and the women’s movement
Assignments: Tyrrell article, Gusfield article, Pegram book, chs 1, 2, 3, 4
5 - 7 - 9(pacing break) The Anti-Saloon League, Prohibition’s rise and fall
Assignments: Murphy article, Kyvig article, Pegram book,
chs 5, 6, 7, 8 & epilogue
Feb 14 - 16 Odds & Ends, looking backwards, omissions and catching up; Review
FEB 19 ******************** TEST *********************
21- 23 - 26 Alcohol and health – the news is not all
bad nor all good; Doing shots and Russian
Roulette; the importance of the medulla oblongata
Assignments: Rivers book, ch 4 Alcohol Alert articles #s 46, 35, 28, 45, 11
28 - March 2 - 5 Looking for the happy bunny and finding
the bad-news bunny! Why do people
drink when they are not even thirsty ? Common problems associated
with alcohol
Assignments: Rivers book, ch 2, 3, Alcohol Alert article # 44
7 - 9 Alcoholism, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency
and other ideas to take with you on
spring break!!! Explanations, perhaps!
Assignments: Rivers book, Chs 5, 6,
19 - 21- 23 Drunken Comportment – Is drunken behavior learned? Further explanations.
Assignments: Rivers book, chs 7, 8
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MARCH 26 TEST <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
28 - 30 Problem drinking; The road to recovery;
Assignments: Rivers book, re-read pp 22 - 38, ch 9
April 2 - 4- 6 Alcoholics Anonymous
Assignments: Rivers book, chs 10, 12
9 (Passover) - 11 (Easter break 12 - 16) The disease model debate
Assignment: Peele article
18 - 20 - 23 Coping strategies; drunken driving, prevention and intervention
Assignments: Rivers book, chs 11, 13
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^April 25^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
27 - 30 - May 2 - 4 - 7 Special populations; college students emphasized
Assignments: DeJong article, Haines article, Knapp book,
all of it
Final exam scheduled by the registrar.