Plagues and Pandemics

Catalog description

This is a history of disease, especially epidemic disease, in western and world history. The first half of the course looks at disease from ancient times to the last half of the 19th century. The second half concentrates on the period from about 1890 to the present. The focus in the first half is on how people understood disease and how this shaped treatments. The second half focuses of the fundamental changes to disease pools brought about by the creation of thick global networks, increasing urbanization, and dramatic population increases. In terms of treatment, the focus will shift toward the development of germ theory, public health, and scientific medicine. May be taught concurrently with HST 629. Cannot receive credit for both HST 529 and HST 629. Prerequisite: 50 hours.