ME.150 (The History of Medicine)

This course is designed for onsite PhD and Masters students registered through the Department of the History of Medicine. It satisfies the School of Medicine Responsible Conduct of Research requirement. It introduces students to a range of key ethical issues for historical research, writing, and teaching.

We review the social, intellectual and cultural history of Western medicine from ancient times to the seventeenth century, addressing issues such as: the social definition of the physician’s role; cultural perceptions of the body and definitions of health and illness; shifting patterns of treatment; the epistemology of medicine; and the varying relationship between medicine and religious belief.

The course reviews the social, intellectual, and cultural history of Western medicine from the eighteenth century to the present. The emphasis is on Western medicine as the result of Western political-economic and institutional structures, cultural values, and the rise and complexities of 'scientific medicine'.

This course introduces students to the key themes, concepts, and methods of the field in a dynamic seminar arranged by thematic modules. Topics covered include: What is Disease? The Healer-Patient Relationship: Seeing the Body; Pain; Medical Technologies.

This course is an in-depth survey of Medicine in Classical Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. All students must submit a History of Medicine Program online application at <http://historyofmedicine.jhmi.edu>. JHU students enrolled in graduate degree programs (not in the School of Medicine) should submit an IDR to their home school to register for this course in addition to the online application.

This course introduces students to key themes and concepts in Medieval and Early Modern medicine by means of seminar discussions accompanied by online lectures that provide background. Topics include the emergence of medical licensing; the persistence of religious healing; cross-cultural exchanges; and the patient's perspective.

In this course we will explore health and healing in the 18th and early 19th centuries. We examine the changing basis of European and North American medical theory and practice, the transformation of specialized spaces for healing such as the clinic, the hospital, and the asylum, the impact of epidemic diseases on the differential construction of public health systems, and the role of medicine in the construction of race, class, and ethnicity.

In this course we will explore the rapid transformation of health care from the late 19th century to the present day. We examine the historical connection between the laboratory and the clinic, the transformation of hospitals and medical schools, the shifting epidemiology of disease over the long 20th century, and the role of medicine and healthcare in mediating colonial and post colonial relations between global North and South.

This course introduces students to basic themes in the secondary literature in the history of medicine, highlighting issues such as the choice of primary sources; varieties of research methods; interpretive strategies; and narrative options. Prerequisite: 150.722 Introduction to the History of Medicine.

Intensive course held at the Department of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of medicine in Baltimore, MD. Will provide students with practical expertise in conducting research in the history of medicine. This course is a prerequisite for students embarking on the preparation of a MA thesis.

The proseminar provides instruction on research methods, professionalization, types of academic writing, and introduction to major works in the field

The knowledge and practices of science and medicine are not as self-evident as they may appear. When we observe, what do we see? What counts as evidence? How does evidence become fact? How do facts circulate and what are their effects? Who is included in and excluded from our common-sense notions of science, medicine, and technology? This course will introduce students to central theoretical concerns in Science and Technology Studies and the Medical Humanities, focusing on enduring problematics that animate scholars. In conjunction with examinations of theoretical bases, students will learn to evaluate the methodological tools used in different fields in the humanities to study the production and circulation of scientific knowledge and the structures of medical care and public health. This problem-centered approach will help students understand and apply key concepts and approaches in critical studies of science, technology, and medicine.

(For departmental graduate students after their fields are completed) For doctoral candidates and other advanced students engaged in original research for their dissertation under faculty supervision.

Directed Readings in the History of Medicine

Readings from the relevant secondary literature will form the basis for discussion and interpretation in relation to the topic of the student’s thesis. Course is available each quarter.

Students undertake research for their Master's thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. Course is available each quarter.