Centers the lived experiences of different individuals and cultures during infectious disease epidemics in modern global history, particularly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Based on the history of medicine, the course emphasizes both historical context and anthropological, epidemiological, sociological, and cultural issues surrounding infectious disease both past and present.
Athena Title
Pandemic History
Pre or Corequisite
Any course in HIST, LACS, AFST, AFAM, HIST, ECOL, BIOL, CBIO, BHSI, BCMB, EHSC, DMAN, GLOB, HONS, IDIS, or PBHL
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 infectious disease epidemics in global history 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 about historical disease outbreaks. 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 the history of pandemics shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward disease, medicine, public health, race, and colonization, 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 their reading of secondary sources from the perspective of a historian, and they will use these approaches to organize evidence and show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
Thinking Historically About Disease, Medicine, and Public Health
Disease, Death, and Colonization
Germ Theory, Bacteriology, and the Rise of Modern Medicine
