Women in Medicine: A History of Healing, Experience, and Knowledge

3 credits · Undergraduate

This course explores how, from antiquity to the twenty-first century, women have shaped medicine—not only as healers, nurses, and midwives, but also as herbalists, alchemists, administrators, researchers, and patients. Special attention will be given to the use of gender as an analytical lens in the history of medicine, and to its intersection with race, sex, class, and other identities that have shaped women’s experiences in medical contexts. While the course primarily focuses on Western traditions, students will be encouraged to explore comparative examples from other cultural contexts in their own research. PREREQUISITES: A 2000-level course in History, History of Science and Technology, Philosophy, or Sociology/Social Anthropology OR permission from the instructor. CROSSLISTED: HSTC 3413 EXCLUSIONS: First-year students FORMATS: Seminar