Course Syllabus

Jump to Today

Impact of Epidemic Disease upon European History 

 DIS Logo
Semester & Location:

Spring 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:

Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:

Global Health, History, Public Health
Prerequisite(s):

None
Faculty Members:

Jennie Sejr Junghans (Current students use canvas inbox)
Time & Place:

Tuesdays & Fridays 10:05 - 11:25

Classroom: S26-100

Description of Course

Epidemic disease has been a basic human condition over the last 5,000 years. The frequency and the impact of epidemics have varied considerably over time, however. In Europe two periods stand out as particularly disease-ridden: the early Middle Ages (sixth to eighth centuries) and the Renaissance and Early Modern period (mid-fourteenth to late seventeenth centuries). In both cases the increased morbidity sprang from the introduction of new diseases, primarily plague (the precise nature of which remains unknown). Then, beginning in the eighteenth century, Europe experienced an unprecedented demographic transition. Overall mortality declined and though fertility rated also began to decline, sustained population growth began. Reasons for this are debated but it is beyond doubt that the disappearance of plague and generally increased disease control played a crucial role in the proces.

First, the course aims at providing students with a chronological outline of shifting disease patterns and a basic knowledge of the concepts and theories of historical epidemiology. This will involve analysis of original source materials to demonstrate the difficulties involved in retrospective diagnosis. Also, considering that today epidemiology is for all practical purposes a statistical discipline, it remains important for students to realize how limited is representative quantitative information from pre-modern times. Third, the course will provide an analysis of how European society responded to epidemics. In broad historical perspective the ebb and flow of epidemic disease was a key factor in the demografic development in Europe. Until recently, recurring mortality crises would regularly cause dramatic population decline. Ob­viously, epidemic disease - and plague in particular - was a key factor in demographic growth and decline. But epidemics also worked to shape social relations, cultural norms and values and political institutions and practices, the rise of public health being the obvious and most important example.

Course Structure

An introduction will present key concepts and definitions and provide an overview of the methodological difficulties in analysing epidemic disease as a historical phenomenon (e.g. the lack of quantitative source materials).

Following the introduction, the course is arranged chronologically with 7 main themes:

1. From humoral medicine to germ theory

2. The Plague Pandemics

3. Smallpox and vaccination

4. War and disease

5. Cholera, sanitary reforms and public health

6. Tuberculosis and industrialization

7. Diseases of globalization

Furthermore, we will discuss possible causes for the sustained population growth in Europe from the 1700s onward, the problems with technological advances and innovations, the rise of microbiology, and changes in disease patterns caused by industrialisation. Finally, we will discuss Europe's position in relation to the pattern of epidemics in the modern world (covid-19, HIV, cholera etc.)

Readings

Textbooks

Frank M. Snowden: Epidemics and Society. From the Black Death to the Present, Yale University Press 2020.

 

Online Texts

The key issues of the course will be discussed on the basis of a number of original sources (in English translations):

"The English Orders 1592" in W.P. Barrett (ed.): Present Remedies against the Plague etc. Shakespeare Association Facsimiles 7 (Oxford 1933).

Venette, Jean de, ed. R.A. Newhall & tr. J. Birdsall, The Chronicle of Jean de Venette (New York, 1953) (extract).

Requirements

  • 1 quiz
  • 1 midterm paper (3-4 pages)
  • 1 term paper (8-10 pages) at the end of the semester
  • Active participation throughout the semester

Grading

Assignment

Percent

Quiz

20%

Midterm Paper

25%

Term Paper

35%

Participation
20 %


Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due