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History of American Medicine, 1865 to the Present (Honors)

Course Description

Major transformation in American medicine from the late nineteenth century to the present. Topics may include public reactions to epidemic diseases, medical experimentation on human subjects, alternative medical approaches, the economics of health care, technology in medicine, and the experiences of health care providers.

Athena Title

American Medicine Since 1865 H

Equivalent Courses

Not open to students with credit in HIST 4066, HIST 6066

Prerequisite

Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S and permission of Honors

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of post-Civil War American medicine by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how American medical history shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward race and slavery, gender and sexuality, and labor and class, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
  • By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.

Topical Outline

  • 1. Viewing Disease and Medicine Historically
  • 2. Epidemics and Public Health: Typhoid Mary
  • 3. Race and Medicine: The Tuskegee Study
  • 4. Alternative Medicine
  • 5. In the Shadow of Polio
  • 6. The Wounded Healer
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