Bodies in history

HSTM10272 (10-credit); HSTM10772 (20-credit)

Semester Two, Thursdays, 14.00-16.00

Aims

To provide an introduction to medicine in modern Western culture, from c 1500- c 2000. To show how, through a focus on bodies (human and social), historians of medicine address themes such as class, race, gender, national identity, economic life and cultural production, and how scientific and medical theories and practices can be understood as part of wider histories.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, students will have acquired a knowledge of the outlines of modern history of medicine; skills in linking ‘body histories’ to wider contexts; critical abilities in analyzing historical arguments; experience of presenting historical arguments in written seminar responses; and experience of presenting oral arguments in seminar discussions. In addition, students taking the 20 credit unit will be able to find and research a topic of their own choosing; to find and assess critically primary and secondary sources; to write, with full scholarly apparatus, a report on their individual research project.

Lecture Content

Bodies in History: a course introduction
Bodies Explored: Renaissance Anatomy
Bodies Ordered: Enlightenment Taxonomies
Bodies Analyzed: The Birth of the Clinic
Bodies Clean and Dirty: Constitution, Contagion, Cleanliness
Bodies and Minds
Bodies “Improved”: Eugenics and Efficiency
Bodies at Work, Bodies at War
The Cost of Health
Standard Bodies
Consuming Bodies

Practical Content

The course meets for one two-hour session. These will include a lecture followed by a practical workshop. The lectures will treat the subject synthetically; the workshops are intended for closer critical investigation of particular issues raised in the week’s required reading. Attendance at BOTH lectures and workshops is required.

Assessment

10 credit (HSTM10272) - 2 hour exam (50%); practical assessment (50%)
20 credit (HSTM10772) - 2 hour exam (25%); practical assessment (25%); written project (50%)

Feedback

Students may ask questions at any time during lectures and seminars. Teaching staff can usually answer specific queries by email or during office hours, and will provide contact details in the course handbook or at lectures. All submitted coursework will be returned with annotations and an assessment sheet explaining the mark awarded.

Prerequisites

None.