Project description

This course offers an introductory survey of�the�history�of�medicine�(principally in Europe and�the�United States) from classical antiquity to�the�early twentieth century. Using a combination of both primary and secondary sources, students will learn about�the��Hippocratic Heritage� of contemporary western�medicine;�medicine�in late antiquity; faith and healing in�the�medieval period;�medicine�and knowledge in�the�Islamic world;�medicine�during�theRenaissance (particularly�the�rise of�the�mechanical philosophy);�medicine�in�the�age of Enlightenment; professionalization, women-doctors and midwives, and battles over �quackery� in�the�eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;�the�role of�medicine�in colonialism and empire; and�the�promises and perils of modern�medicine�(dramatic decreases in mortality on�the�one hand,�the�rise of Eugenics and�the�importance of�Medicine�to�the�National Socialist State on�the�other). As well as this temporal survey, we will consider a number of ongoing�themes: race, bodily difference, and�medicine;�medicine�and�the�environment; women, gender, and�medicine;�the�history�of�the�body;�thehistory�of sexuality; and�the�close connections between forms of social order and forms of medical knowledge.�Thecourse meets three times a week (for two lectures and a section) and is open to all.�

Project aims

Project outcome