BIOLOGY 203 -Writing intensive

DEATH, DISEASE AND SEX IN THE LATE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

 

TEXTBOOKS: Yellow Fever Black Goddess: The co-evolution of people and plagues by Christopher Wills.

Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill.

In the Wake of the Plague by Norman Cantor.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

Medieval Europe: a short history. 10th edition by Judith M. Bennett and Warren C. Hollister.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course investigates how epidemic diseases shape human societies, and how continued cultural and technological innovation creates conditions favorable for such epidemics. Two disease complexes constitute the primary focus of this course; Black Death for the Middle Ages and Syphilis for the Renaissance. These will also serve as historical models for understanding current emerging diseases such as HIV, SARS, West Nile Virus, Mad Cow and Ebola.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will:

1. become familiar with the scientific basis of germ theory and modern epidemiology. The problems of correlation and causation are presented with respect to a "new germ theory."

2. investigate the facts and theories concerning the origin of the Black Death.

3. gain an appreciation of the impact of the Black Death on human societies through changes in socio-economics, politics, art and literature.

4. will gain an appreciation of the extent to which changes in natural and human processes interacted to create the circumstance favoring the spread of the Bubonic Plague.

5. gain in their understanding of the dynamics of pandemics through a close study of the Plague of 1347-1350 AD.

6. learn the landscape epidemiology of Yersinia pestis, the plague bacterium.

7. consider the effects of the "Columbian exchange" on Native American and European populations.

8. gain knowledge of syphilis, its past and present impact on human civilization

9. learn the different scientific theories concerning the origin and etiology of Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis

10. use the Black Plague and Syphilis as models to understand such modern plagues as HIV/AIDS, Mad Cow, SARS, Lyme, and West Nile virus and how they impact on modern societies.

11. critically assess research on emerging diseases and current epidemics

12. write a review paper on the social aspects of a selected disease that either is or was epidemic, or is an emergent disease with epidemic potential.  Student will be encouraged to tackle different aspects of epidemics depending on their major and/or interest.