HIST380

This course looks at the role of medicine and health in shaping US history. We will explore such things as the impact of epidemics, popular attitudes toward health, the unique status of physicians, the evolution of public health, the changing place of women in the health system, controversies over vaccination, debates over how to deal with mental health, and the origins of the medical funding crisis currently raging in US politics. The course is primarily social history and does not pre-suppose any scientific or technical knowledge of medicine. The issues are fascinating!