Course Description
HISTORY OF MEDICINE
This course is a social and cultural history of medicine.
In this course we will examine the history of medical developments in
both the East and the West, using China and Europe as representatives of
these two medical traditions. Throughout the course we will examine the
relationship between the development of the medical traditions and social,
intellectual, and cultural transformations, focusing particularly on
responses to diseases by society.
The course will be divided into three major parts.
Part I looks at the development
of a Western medical tradition, beginning with the Greeks and then moving on
to the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the emerging dominance of science and
the rise of clinical medicine.
Part II
examines the development of traditional Chinese medicine, its
theoretical foundations, development of the different schools of medicine,
influence of Confucianism and Daoism, and finally the impact of Western
medicine as it was introduced into China.
Part III compares these two major medical traditions that have been
discussed, focusing on Greece and China.
The class will consist of lectures and as well as discussions.
As part of the participation grade, each student will be required to
lead at least one discussion based on the readings for the week.
All students, however, are responsible for readings listed for each
week. Topics for the two short papers will be assigned but students
can choose the topic for their term paper after consultation with the
instructor. All students are
encouraged to hand in their assignments on time and late papers will be
penalized.