HIST 387 - Epidemic Histories (TR)

Epidemics often appear akin to natural disasters in historical accounts, as unpredictable and destructive forces apparently beyond human control. But epidemics are not simply random events that shape and constrain individual people, societies, and institutions. Epidemics are the creations of particular and varied contexts, both human and ecological. Students examine some of the conditions of possibility for historical epidemics, emphasizing social and cultural factors, as well as the variable effects epidemic diseases had on people and societies in the past. Students also consider challenges of writing history in a pandemic, the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic might influence how we understand historical epidemics, and the extent to which we can draw parallels between past and present. (TR)

Credits: 1.0
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Core Component: None

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