Biomedicine and World History (379-0-20)

Instructors

Helen Tilley
Helen Tilley studies African colonial and postcolonial history with a particular focus on medical, racial, environmental, and anthropological themes. She is finishing a book on the history of traditional medicine and its relationship to African decolonization, global governance, and ethnoscientific research during the Cold War.

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L07: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This lecture course takes the Covid-19 pandemic as a point of departure to study the history of global health and biomedicine. We will break the quarter into four segments during which we will consider: 1) the "unification of the globe" by infectious diseases; 2) the role of empires, industries, warfare, and revolutions in spreading biomedical cultures around the world; 3) the functions played by transnational and global health institutions in different continents; and 4) the growth of the pharmaceutical industry and the narcotics trade. Students will have a chance to apply insights from the readings - about histories of racial segregation, reproductive politics, militarization, genocides, and police powers - to the more recent past. Lectures and readings cover all world regions: Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Learning Objectives

To understand diseases as active agents in human history. To analyze how political, economic, legal, and social systems intersect with medical history, including genocides. To explain how global phenomena have taken root in different parts of the world. To refine historical reasoning about the origins and impact of multifaceted and transnational issues.

Evaluation Method

No Generative AI use policy for reading and writing. In-class writing exercises and quizzes; timeline assignments. Section presentations.

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Global
History Minor Concentration(s): Science and Technology

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration is available for students majoring or minoring in History, Global Health, or Science in Human Culture Students who have previously taken History 300-0 Section 47, Biomedicine and World History, in Spring 2013 are not allowed to take this course.

Associated Classes

DIS - Lutkin Hall: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM

DIS - Harris Hall 107: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - Fisk Hall 217: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - Lutkin Hall: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - Fisk Hall 217: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - Lutkin Hall: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM