Details
ONLINE HISTORY COURSE
“When the Saints Come Marching In: Medical Saints and the Diseases They Cure”
Course Description:
It’s 1348 in Florence and the Black Death ravages the city and people are dying like flies. There is little the plague doctors can do and the priests seem to be helpless, in the face of an epidemic everyone saw as the wrath of God. You’re desperately afraid and don’t want to die. So, who you gonna call?
Reliance on the supernatural when dealing with disease was common in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Physicians and other healers at this time were wedded to the concept of the Four Humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Promulgated by Hippocrates of Cos (c. 5th century BCE) and formalized by the 2nd century CE Roman physician, Galen, the proper balance of the Four Humors determined health and disease. Humoralism was medical dogma until its replacement by the germ theory in the middle to late 19th century. This erroneous premise resulted in a dearth of truly effective therapies for illness or injuries. Instead, people appealed to an amazingly large array of saints and to members of the Holy Family for intervention and help in recovery or survival.
Join physiologist and medical historian, Dr. Jeremy Wasser, for a tour of the sacred art representing the medical saints. Learn which saint was beneficial for which disease and why and how they were depicted in paintings, frescos, and sculpture. There truly was a saint for every body part and every ailment. The reasons for their medical roles and associations make for a fascinating, if sometimes gruesome tale.
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.
Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with discussion forum, videos of recordings, syllabus, and reading list.
Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE HISTORY LECTURES
Optional Readings:
Readings to be provided to students in PDF format prior to the beginning of course.
Complete syllabus will be provided upon registration.
- ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE