OPD 500 - History of Medicine: East and West

Credit(s): 2

Through lecture and visual presentations, this course offers a historical and cultural perspective on the development of medicine throughout the world. The first six weeks will review the emergence and evolution of traditional East Asian medicine in China and around the world in light of evolving and competing worldviews. During the second six weeks, the course looks at the history of medicine in “animistic” societies and then through other global cultures, especially the ancient Mediterranean, Europe and North America, to see how history, culture, and worldviews shape the perception of health and disease and the practice of medicine in contemporary America. Through the methodology of historical analysis and cultural contextualization this course will further enable each student to assess assumptions and constructs regarding health, disease causation, medicine, the
therapeutic relationship, and the healing process. Thus, the emergent practitioner will understand both the content and context of Chinese medical traditions as well as the origins and evolution of the culture in which each patient is embedded.