HIST 5380 Medical History and Bioethics
COVID-19 is changing the world as we watch. In the past, pandemics have devastated some areas while sparing others, affected regions and countries differently, and revealed widespread patterns of economic, racial, and social inequalities both within and between nations. What common patterns and important differences become visible in comparing COVID-19 to past efforts in combating infectious disease epidemics? Using a range of sources, including historical documents, social science, films, and biomedical research, the course will examine: the relationship between ideas about epidemics, race, immigration, and public health policy; shifting geopolitics of perceived hotspots and threats of infectious diseases; changing cultural anxieties and fears related to outbreaks; the shifting economic, institutional, and socio-political dimensions of international and global health, and differential access to health-care resources for vulnerable and migrant populations in epidemics.
Offered
As scheduled