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H/HPS 155 ab
Mortality Crises and Social Change: Epidemic Disease from 1300 to the Present
9 units (3-0-6)  | second, third terms
What do we know about epidemics in the past? What did contemporaries understand about these events? How did societies respond to periodic bouts of epidemic disease? This course examines mortality crises and epidemics from the Black Death in the 14th century to the current coronavirus pandemic, with attention given to the impact of epidemics on societies, the ways in which such outbreaks have been understood over time, and the kinds of responses they have elicited. We will draw on studies for a range of societies in order to identify patterns across space and time, and to highlight both continuity and change in the ways societies have dealt with contagious diseases. Part (a) will address these questions with a focus on society and economy. Part (b) will address these questions with a focus on the history of science and medicine.
Instructors: Dennison, Kormos-Buchwald