Details

ONLINE HISTORY COURSE
“When the Moon is in the Seventh House: Astrology, Astronomy and Medicine”

Course Description:

Beginning in antiquity and continuing into the early modern period a critical component of medical practice centered on observations of the planets and the starry constellations. People in the ancient and medieval world believed that the sun and planets revolved around the earth (the geocentric model). There was no real distinction between astrology and astronomy until the development of the heliocentric model of the solar system (that the planets revolved around the sun). Before (and even after) the revolutionary work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Tycho Brahe, the border between astrology and astronomy was fluid and a belief in one did not preclude expertise and a belief in the other.

“Medical Mathematics” was a course taught in medieval European medical schools. But this was not what we moderns would think of as quantitative medicine, for example statistics and epidemiology. Rather it constituted a training in astrology and astronomy, how to read the heavens for a specific patient at a specific time and use that arcane knowledge to provide a diagnosis, a prognosis and to develop a therapy.

In this course, we will explore the history of the application of astrology and astronomical science to medical practice from antiquity through the early modern period. We will trace the development of astronomical knowledge of the sun, the visible planets, the moon, and the stars and explore the theories that developed about the potential influence of these stellar bodies on the lives and fates of human beings. Our focus will be on the theories that developed around the concept (to reverse the famous quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar) that the fault (our destiny) does lie in our stars and not in ourselves, at least in terms of our health and physical well-being. Where did these ideas come from? How did the ideas evolve over time and how were they applied in a myriad of ways to the art and science of medicine?

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with videos of recordings, syllabus, and reading list.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings:
Information will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

Complete syllabus will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THE COURSE HAS ENDED.

Schedule

LECTURE 1 – When the Moon Hits Your Eye 

– Wednesday, October 15

In the Middle Ages, the moon was considered, one of the seven planets, and the phases of the moon were indicators for medical treatment. Lunar and solar eclipses were also important and factored into a physician’s understanding of health and disease. In this lecture, we will review the ancient and medieval understanding of lunar events and place that understanding in the context of lunar-influenced medicine.

LECTURE 2 – I’m Your Venus

– Wednesday, October 22

To ancient and medieval astronomers, astrologers, and physicians, the planets all revolved around the central Earth. Each planet was believed to influence the fates of humans in specific ways and that influence extended to conditions of health and disease. Our second lecture will be a planetary guide to the pre-modern concepts that were thought to govern physiological and pathophysiological processes.

LECTURE 3 – Starry, Starry Night

– Wednesday, October 29

In our final lecture, we focus on the stars and their patterns in the night sky.  Most of the constellations we know today are based on those documented by the 2nd century CE Greek mathematician and astronomer, Ptolemy.  The stars were used by sailors to guide their ships and by doctors to treat their patients. Each sign of the Zodiac was associated with specific anatomical regions and with a specific grouping of maladies. Bloodletting, mixing of medicines, and applications of treatments were all thought to be influenced by the stars and the patient’s relationship to them. Like the doctor in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, all physicians of those times had to be “grounded in astronomye”. We will explore what that meant and how stargazing and interpretation became a required skill in the medical world.

Instructor

Jeremy Wasser, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Physiology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Wasser serves as the program leader for study abroad programs in Germany, focused on the history of medicine, providing future doctors and biomedical science researchers with a foundation in physiology and the medical humanities. Along with his scientific publications he has written and lectured on the culture of disease, the history of public health and health policy, the history of human experimentation, and the role of physiological education in contemplative practices. Additionally, Wasser’s training in opera and theatre inform the unique personas that he creates for lectures in the history of medicine and performances related to science and storytelling.