How did people, in the past, experience health and illness and how did this differ according to gender, age, race, ability and geography? How, why and when did professional medicine come to dominate discussions of health and treatments for illness? And was this domination always a good thing for our health? These are some of the key questions this module explores. With its main focus on Britain and Western Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the module examines themes such as epidemic disease
mental health
health environments
welfare states
the relationship between medicine and war
sexuality
and colonialism. To explore these themes, students compare wide ranging historiographies and draw on the significance of these historiographies for debates about health and medicine today.
Lecture 16, Seminar 16
1,000 words Book Review. Assessment Details: Students chose a book from the module reading list to analyse and review, using some key interpretive tools. worth 40%.
1,500 words Essay. Assessment Details: Students interpret a question using primary sources and the secondary literature on a topic. worth 60%.
Reassessment Method:
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
Understand the different approaches to the history of health and medicine.
Evaluate the underlaying concepts and issues associated within medical history and interpret these within their specific historical context.
Differentiate between reliable and non-reliable sources of historical and contemporary information on the history of health and medicine.
Review a variety of historical writings and formulate a reasoned critique of their reliability.
Work effectively independently or in groups to construct and defend a position and argument.
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