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Academic Year 2003/2004

An Introduction to the History of Disease & Medicine
HIST 182 SP
Crosslistings:
SISP 282
EAST 182

In today's world we tend to think of disease as things that exist in nature in the same way as plants and animals. Often, we equate a pathogen such as HIV or the tubercle bacillus (TB) with the diseases they cause. As a result we often forget that diseases are actually concepts, ways of grouping certain signs and symptoms that make sense to our system of medicine. In the past, however, different systems of medicine have grouped those signs and symptoms together in ways unfamiliar to us, creating diseases such as catarrh, phthisis, and black water fever. This course examines some of the basic issues in the history of disease and medicine with the goal of giving students tools for understanding these topics not only across time but also across cultures today.

MAJOR READINGS

Selections from the CAMBRIDGE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF HUMAN DISEASE, Ludwik Fleck, THE GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SCIENTIFIC FACT, Shigehisa Kuriyama, THE EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE BODY AND THE DIVERGENCE OF GREEK AND CHINESE MEDICINE, and various other texts.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

There will be at least a mid-term exam and various written assignments.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004

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