University of St Andrews

Before they are members of political and religious groupings, humans are biological entities. As such, throughout history humans have had to devise complex strategies to cope with fundamental biological factors. Focusing primarily upon an Anglo-American context, this course examines the manner in which sickness and death have shaped human history - both biologically and culturally - over the past 500 years. Consideration of patients' and practitioners' expectations, and of the changing meanings of cure, treatment, and care, encourages students to appreciate changing attitudes to health, hygiene, healing and illness within the social history of medicine. Moreover, through an examination of medical practitioners, hospitals, quarantine, inoculation, imperialism, urbanisation, and industrialisation, students will gain an appreciation of the historical relationships between the environment and disease.

Module Catalogue

MO5023 Disease and Environment (c.1500 - c.2000) (40)

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