This course traces the experiences of health, illness, and medicine in American history in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will address the shift from traditional to scientific and professional medicine; the experience of being ill and of being a patient; the "medicalization" of everyday experiences; the health impact of modern commercial capitalism; and the use of medicine as a source of cultural authority in ongoing political battles over identity (e.g. citizenship, race, gender, sexuality). Students will have the opportunity to find and analyze historical documents in a substantial research project.
