3. Plague (I): Pestilence as Disease

Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600 (HIST 234)

The bubonic plague is the measure by which succeeding epidemics have long been measured. Its extreme virulence, horrible symptoms, and indiscriminate victim profile all contributed to making plague the archetypical worst-case scenario. For these same reasons, the plague is also an ideal test case for the thesis that epidemic diseases play a major role in shaping human history. Over the course of its three pandemics, the plague had major economic, religious, cultural and political implications for affected societies. In its wake, religious beliefs and medical practices were questioned, public authorities tested, and the social fabric strained.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Bubonic Plague
14:03 - Chapter 2. Three Western Pandemics
23:39 - Chapter 3. Etiology
34:10 - Chapter 4. Symptomatology and Pathology

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2010.