HIS 568SEM - History of Women, Illness, and Health

This course explores how women’s illnesses have been experienced, perceived, and treated from the 17th through the 20th centuries (primarily in North America). This includes a variety of perspectives, from the girls and women who experience illness; to the female family members and healers who historically have treated them; and the predominantly male medical profession which rose to prominence by specializing, initially, in treating female maladies. Other healing professions, such as nursing and psychotherapy, are included as well. The course asks how the very nature of what constitutes “illness” itself has changed over time; for example, is pregnancy a natural part of life course or an illness? In analyzing illness and health, the course integrates perspectives from disability history into more traditional histories of medicine. While historically based, the course will also draw upon interdisciplinary sources such as memoir, fiction, and anthropological and sociological studies.

Credits: 3

Term Typically Offered: Fall