History of Public Health

3 units

Starting in the ancient period and ending in the present day, this course examines the history of public health on global scale. What we now know as “public health” did not just come out of a laboratory or clinic; it emerged from the intersection of historical developments in racialization, socioeconomic division, and gendered constructions. The course will explore a number of questions, including: how and why imperial and national politics and economics have influenced public health research and actions; what “publics” public health has served and prioritized; and how the creation of public health authority and knowledge both drew from and exploited marginalized populations. Students will choose an archival primary source about public health and craft an analytical paper about it.