This course will allow students to look at how the smallest of microbial organisms have impacted world history and culture over time. Through this problem-oriented course, students will first learn the basics of anthropological epidemiology and then apply those concepts to serious infectious illness outbreaks and the cultures affected by the disease.

Anthropology of Infectious Disease

Over the span of human existence, the smallest of microbes have influenced human history, culture and biology. The science of epidemiology has until recently been largely limited to microbiologists, examining the spread and effects of infectious illness on human populations. Anthropology is uniquely positioned to consider disease and illness in general and infectious illness in particular. Utilizing the bio-cultural approach, anthropologists work to form a more complete understanding of the interactions between humans and infectious organisms.

This course will examine infectious illness from an anthropological perspective, focusing on how human culture and biology both affect and are affected by small organisms such as viruses, bacteria and internal parasites. Through this course, students will endeavor to apply anthropological concepts to the study of infectious illness in human populations through time. The ultimate goal of the course is to more completely understand how such illnesses have been dealt with in the past, how modern cultures respond today and, perhaps, how the effects can be minimized.