Pandemics: History, Ethics, Politics, and Policy

(3 Credits)

This course traces the evolution of the United States response to pandemics from 1900 to the present. It uses historical literature and documents to embed students in the historical, economic, and policy contexts in which pandemics occur. The course uses a range of historical cases and other publicly available sources including documents made available through state and federal litigation that illuminate the tradeoffs that health officials must consider and structures and cultures that shape decision-making and conflict or alignment between health officials, advocates, opponents (including corporate forces), and the groups subjected to efforts to control or mitigate the spread of disease.