In-class exercise: responsibility for the Study of Untreated Syphilis in Tuskegee

This exercise will take place in class on Wednesday 5/1:

Discuss the following questions and submit your written answers (2-3 paragraphs) here.

Choose one person or institution (USPHS, Tuskegee Institute, VA Hospital), and answer the following questions. You may not be able to answer every question; please focus on those for which you have the best information and ideas.

Be sure to cite your sources from the class readings!

1. What responsibility does this person/ institution have for perpetuating or for mitigating the harms of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?
2. Did this person/institution recognize their responsibility? In what ways does their self-perception/ self-representation differ from your historical judgement about them?
3. What, if anything, could they have done differently to have impacted the situation? Why did or didn’t they?
4. What is the history / biography of this person/ institution?
5. What authority did this person/ institution have, and on what basis (power of the U.S. government, or professional expertise?) What were the limits of this power?
6. What would have been the common expectations and norms for behavior at the time? How do we imagine that their actions would have been perceived in their time? Does this make them less responsible for the consequences?