Disease and Society in America OpenCourseWare: MIT's Free Bachelor Level Class on the History of Disease and Medicine

Published Apr 04, 2009

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'Disease and Society in America,' free OpenCourseWare, offered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), explores the significance of medicine in culture. The original course was an elective option in several Bachelor of Science degree programs at MIT.

Disease and Society in America: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
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Disease and Society in America: Course Description

Medical issues in today's culture are analyzed by utilizing a historical perspective in 'Disease and Society in America,' free OpenCourseWare presented through MIT. Professor David Jones taught this lecture course. This is an HASS CI course (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Communication Intensive). As such, the original course had a number of writing assignments. It examines the changes that have occurred in the medical system over the past 500 years and the significant variations in the regularity and experience of diseases. Learn how modern day healthcare is a key component of the American economy and an important political issue. This course also looks at the shifting of disease patterns, the growth and change of medical practice and theory and the creating of the medical profession and hospitals. The online materials outline biomedical research advancements and healthcare ethics in America. Specific topics of interest include disease and health changing patterns (i.e. colonists' health and disease and health before Columbus), society and medicine (i.e. medicine of the American Indian) and modern medicine's rise (i.e. policy of healthcare and modern hospitals). The original MIT class was an elective course in several Bachelor of Science programs given through the Science, Technology and Society program, part of the School of Humanities.

This free OpenCourseWare includes class lecture notes, sectional study guides, a course reading list and sample class assignments. To view the assorted study materials, visit the medical science course page.