HIST 283 History of Medicine and Public Health
Medicine and healing have changed much since the time of Black Death, when contemporaries blamed the disease on God's wrath, planetary alignments, and even on Jews. The quest for evidence of how the healthy body functions and what causes disease intensified after the Renaissance and the anatomist Andreas Vesalius's call to "see for oneself." This course will explore the evolution of medicine and healing since the plague pandemic of 1348-52, with particular emphasis on how political and cultural views have shaped who could practice medicine, who had access to care, and how societies responded to the threat of disease. We will also explore how health evolved from a personal matter to a national priority in modern states and the effect this had on the rights of individual citizens. Drawing upon health-themed short stories, plays, films, documentaries, art, written sources, and case studies, participants in the course will engage with past issues in health and medicine that still resonate in healthcare debates today.