HIST 373: Politics of Health and Medicine in the Americas: From Historical Roots to Contemporary Developments

In this course we will examine the history of health - and health care - as well as the political dimensions of scientific research and medicine. Based on the understanding that health and health care are subject to political competitions on the nation state level and are mediated by changing global paradigms, we will use readings and class discussions to draw conclusions about citizenship rights in the Americas. We will start with a number of broad questions to make specific links: When did the responsibilities for citizens' health shift from being rooted in notions of charity to a sense of citizens' entitlement to state services? When, and under what circumstances, can people put pressure on their political leaders and make states accept increased responsibility for citizens' health? How can we best understand the links between global paradigm shifts and nation-state policy changes that protect public health as citizens' entitlement and a human right? And what are the historical reproductions of inequality that we find as we trace health policies in specific regions or nations?