MDHM 307: MEDICINE AND EMPIRE IN ASIA
Fall 2025 · Section 001 · CRN 14977
This course explores the intertwining history of medicine and empire-building from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. With a focus on experiences in Asia, we will delve into questions such as: How has medicine played a role in colonial expansion and imperial politics? What is “colonial” about colonial medicine? How to study medicine and empire during the global turn? We will examine a variety of subjects, including epidemic disease outbreaks, science and medicine as “civilizing missions,” ideas of race and racism in science and medicine, and the historical roots of the modern global health movement. We will also examine colonial medicine as a vibrant field of historical research and analysis, exploring the various methodologies and source materials that historians use to dissect the complex relationship between medicine, empire, and global expansion. Cross-list: ASIA 307.
- Credits
- 3
- Instructors
- Chang Xu