This course examines current studies of the nature of various forms of addiction and abuse in the context of individual and cultural use. The course takes a transdisciplinary approach to the study of addiction science. Themes of this course include:
- Addiction as a brain disease (the pharmacology and neuroanatomy of addiction and dependence)
- Addiction as a chemical process,
- Addiction as a public health problem (characteristics of addiction as elucidated in ethnographies, epidemiological studies, and biomedical research),
- Addiction as a heritable process (genetics and epigenetics),
- Addiction as a sociological process (the history of drug addiction, theories of addiction treatment and recovery, international and national drug policies related to addiction).
The course will examine these facets of the addiction process and apply these theories to the study of specific classes of substance and non-substance addiction, including e-cigarettes and tobacco products, sedatives, alcohol, stimulants, opioids, cannabis, hallucinogens, and behavioral addictions (sex and love, pornography, self-harm, gambling, food addiction). The course will conclude with discussion of the prevention, treatment, and recovery from addiction, legal and ethical issues, and hot topics in the area of addiction science. These themes will be presented in ways that are designed to lead to lively discussions during class.