Course Description
01:506:321 Disease in History
- Academic Credits: 3
- Mode of Instruction: Lecture
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Syllabus Disclaimer: The information on this syllabus is subject to change. For up-to-date course information, please refer to the syllabus on your course site (Sakai, Canvas, etc.) on the first day of class.
Course Description
This course examines how medical knowledge and practice has changed from the 14th century to the present. Our collective experience with COVID-19 has underscored an axiom in the history of medicine: diseases are not just biological, they are also social. Social context scaffolds how diseases unfold in a society and structures how people understand, respond, and make sense of them. This course provides scope and context for the unfolding pandemic and efforts to contain it. We will turn our gaze to the past to explore how prior generations have understood and responded to illness, and in doing so we will examine the roots of today’s structures and meanings around sickness and health.