Plagues, Pox & Pandemics

Catalog description

This class introduces students to the historical, political and ethical dimensions of pandemics. The first part of the course will pay specific attention to the Black Plague, Cholera, 'Spanish' Flu, and AIDS, and the second part of the course will shift to 21st Century pandemics such as Ebola, Zika, and COVID. We will focus on the role of disease, specifically epidemic diseases, from the ancient to the modern era with a broad geographic focus in order to learn understand the social, political, economic, and cultural responses to epidemics globally.