Special Topics In History Interdisciplinary History

AY2016/2017 Semester 2

The aim of the course is to provide students with a general overview of the basic themes and issues in the history of diseases and medical history. This course has an emphasis on global epidemic diseases - such as leprosy in the 12th century, plague in the 15th century, and cholera in the 19th century - and examines how these have impacted human civilisations. The course will begin with an in-depth examination of why knowing disease history is important. The time frame begins with archaeological evidence of our human fossil ancestors and continues through the end of the early 20th century, and ending with the rise of current diseases in these last few decades. This course also focuses on the history of diseases and their evolution along with human history, beginning when certain zoonosis pathogens changed to affect human evolution. Apart from the history of diseases, the course explores how humans managed their illnesses in the past, modern medicine today, and how we seek to improve in the future. Knowing human medical history will help us know how to prepare for the future because how we fight diseases could have unintended consequences that encourage pathogens to evolve and mutate. By the end of this course, students are able to: 1) Understand the importance of research on human diseases and their evolution. 2) Comprehend how to use historical, archaeological, and biological data, along with the testing of hypotheses to study human health issues. 3) Provide critical thoughts when studying the history of diseases and on how we treat diseases today. 4) Prepare for the future, specifically, the consequences of overusing drugs and emerging diseases shaped by humans throughout history. This course explores how disease has shaped the way humans have evolved, and also how diseases have evolved to exploit humans. After considering the different techniques available to investigate health in past populations, we discuss the biological and genetic impact of disease upon natural selection. The cultural consequences of ill health will also be explored, including the social and religious interpretation of why people became ill, coping strategies by past civilizations to live with diseases significant in their societies, and attempts to heal the sick. List of key topics taught is as follows: 1. Reasons to study health in the past and how to study health in the past 2. Health in human ancestors 3. Human parasites and evolution 4. Disease in early civilizations 5. Disease and migration 6. Common diseases among early and modern Austronesians 7. Social consequences of disease 8. Early attempts to treat disease 9. Disease, genes, and modern civilization 10. The origins of human infectious disease 11. The future evolution of disease