Health, Science and Medicine in American History

This course explores major themes and developments in the history of medical science, health, and illness in North America from the 1500s to the 2000s, with attention paid to America’s role in global scientific networks and healthcare initiatives. The course will cover changing ideologies of illness and wellness, and how people in America understood and coped with the most significant diseases of the eras. We will investigate the development of medical and scientific institutions, practices, and technologies, and look at patient experiences over time. The class also emphasizes how key facets of the modern American healthcare system came into existence and changed over time.

This course is an introduction to the histories and cultures of the region called the Caribbean. The class will emphasize how larger events and processes like colonialism, slavery, revolution, globalization, international politics and warfare, and natural disasters and humanitarian crises have impacted the development of Caribbean countries and territories from the 16th century to the present. We will also explore the cultural response from the peoples of the Caribbean, and evaluate the extent to which a singular “Caribbean culture” exists. 

Other topics will include the diversity of language, physical environment, religion, and traditions across the islands; local and popular music, food, literature, dance and art; the Caribbean diaspora and movement of peoples within and outside the region; the unique political and economic challenges of the islands and adjacent countries; and the relationship between the Caribbean and the United States. Meets World Cultures Discovery requirement, and students of all levels and majors are welcome.

Crime, Law, and Justice in American History

This class charts major developments in American law and the criminal justice system from 1700 to present. Each week we will focus on a case study that illuminates the most pressing issues in law and crime for a particular era. Over the course of the semester, we will probe how ideas about criminology, psychology and forensic science developed, the ways the role of prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges have changed, and the ways crime is defined and understood by the public. We will also pay attention to why crime has been so fascinating to generations of Americans, and how crime and the criminal justice system is portrayed in journalism, fiction, film, and popular culture.