Students dissecting corpse at Toledo Medical College, ca 1900 University of Toledo Libraries, "From Quackery to Bacteriology: The Emergence of Modern Medicine in 19th Century America"

History 3724: Health, Disease, and Medicine Spring 1999

This course is an introduction to topics in the history of health, disease, and medicine. It applies a social history perspective to the history of medicine: diseases are analyzed as cultural constructs as well as biopathological phenomena; medicine is viewed as a process of negotiation between patients and practitioners; and institutions and policies reflect both social values and scientific agendas.

The approach in the class is thematic rather than chronological. Readings and discussions will focus on four general areas: historical meanings of health and disease; varieties of therapeutic paradigms; the status and authority of caregivers; and the evolution of public health policies. Within these broad areas, special attention will be paid to categories of race, class and gender differences. The course concentrates on the events of modern (post-Enlightenment) medical history. Most of the material emphasizes developments in the United States, although comparative studies are introduced at several junctures. Concluding units look specifically at the relationship between race and health/medicine and at AIDS; they are intended to serve as case studies of the themes developed throughout the course.

Issues students will explore during the semester include:

What is a disease and what is the relationship between a culture's understanding of disease and the social structure and economic environment?

How have definitions of disease changed over time?

Has the health of the average American improved in the past two hundred years?

In what ways have race and gender stereotypes influenced definitions of disease and medical practice?

How has the treatment of disease changed?

Who practiced medicine and how?

In what ways has health care delivery changed with the advent of modern medicine? How was the modern hospital born?

Why is the M.D. accorded so much status in modern society? And what about alternative therapeutics and practitioners?

What are the limits of public health policy?

And, how does history help us understand contemporary health issues?