HIST 8 Body Parts, Body Wholes: An Introduction to the Comparative History of Medicine

This course examines the possibilities and problems of comparing medicine across time and region. We will begin by considering divergent conceptions of the body in Chinese and Greek antiquity before moving on to the transformation of the healing traditions and the advance of modern biomedicine since 1800. Instead of imposing "holism" or "reductionism" on medical traditions, this course encourages students to view past expressions of medicine as a means of analyzing our own self here and now.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:INT or SOC; WCult:NW

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Class of 2023 and Before Major/Minor Dist: INTER; Class of 2024 and Beyond Major/Minor Dist: Asia, premodern.