Health and Illness in American History

Catalog description

This course traces the experiences of health, illness, and medicine in American history in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will address the shift from traditional to scientific and professional medicine; the experience of being ill and of being a patient; the ?medicalization? of everyday experiences; the health impact of modern commercial capitalism; and healthcare as a form of ?biopower,? that is, as a tool of governance in American social hierarchies of citizenship, race, gender, class, and sexuality. Students will have the opportunity to find and analyze historical documents in a substantial research project. USH