Pandemic World History
CSTS-UH 1106J
Term, NYUAD, Wed Jan 4 – Fri Jan 20, 2023.
MTWRF 15:30-18:30.
Campus Center (C2-W004)
Core Curriculum > Structures of Thought and Society Majors > History > Atlantic World
Credits: 4. Prerequisites: none
David Ludden
Office Hours: Wed 12-2
Student Google Folder
Research Resources:
Pandemic Studies Webpage
PubMed Search
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Pandemics have traveled among distant places from ancient times, provoking political, social, and cultural change; stimulating intellectual activity, ranging from medicine to philosophy, poetry, polemics, and folklore; and affecting the everyday health of human populations around the world. This course explores the long history of pandemics in order to contextualize modern trends, contemporary problems, and pressing policy challenges. Our central concern is to understand how pandemic disease mobility interacts with territorial social formations; with that concern, we focus particularly on the historically expanding scale of mobility among territorial structures of social power and inequity.
Work for this course will contribute to our pandemic studies webpage, a evolving digital platform for the wholistic study of public health, combining epidemiology with spatial, social, political, cultural, and economic history, focusing on health inequities in empires, capitalism, and globalization.
In the NYUAD 2023 J-Term, we travel to Bangladesh to study the complexity of pandemic health environments in poverty environments. We will spend three full days in class and in field visits at the James P. Grant School of Public Health, at the International Center for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh, and among Readymade Garment Workers, seeing how pandemics complicate everyday health crises in slums, hospitals, and factories.
COURSE OUTLINE
Part 1. January 4-7. Ancient Times to the Twentieth Century
Part 2. January 9-13. Pandemic Environments in Bangladesh Today
Part 3. January 16-20. Our Pandemic Era
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to describe orally and in writing worlds of pandemic mobility at various times; effectively use concepts and methodologies for relevant studies of globalization; critically interpret maps and other visual representations of historical information; think critically about territorial boundaries as features of pandemic histories; understand how different world regions participate in pandemic histories; and understand problems that pertain specifically Bangladesh and low-income Afro-Asia.
TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODOLOGIES
ALL information on this course is on his website. We do not use Brightspace. All student writing is submitted in GoogleDoc individual student Google Folders.
This course combines lecture presentations, course discussions, and field experience in Bangladesh. Each class includes a lecture presentation with Q&A and class discussion of readings and presentations. Presentations will not focus only on the reading but will add significant information, including online materials. Students will lead class discussion and make presentations.
Writing assignments enable students to develop their understanding of the reading and class material. Oral presentations enable students to formulate ideas for group discussion and to seek assistance from classmates in resolving challenges they face in their own research and writing.
COURSE MATERIALS
Reading: All required reading is online. Readings average less than 100 pages per class and need to be done before each class meeting.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES
Grading: There are no exams. Grading is on a point system. One-page papers earn 6 points each (6 x 10 = 60) and ten-page papers earn 30 points. Attendance and participation earn 10 points. (Total: 60+30+10 = 100).
Final grade point equivalents: A = 94-100; A- = 90-93; B+ = 85-89; B = 80-84; B- = 75-79; C+ = 70-74; C = 65-69; C- = 60-64; D=50-59; F=<50.
Writing Assignments: Students put all writing into individual Google Drive folders.
- TEN 1-page response papers. One-page response papers are based on readings, presentations, field visits, and a prompt in the assignment post. They should reflect an understanding of main points in readings and presentations and provide ideas – including questions and doubts — for discussion.
- One 10-page synthetic paper. This essay is on a topic of your choice, based on all cumulative course material and approved outside sources. These papers should represent a student’s synthesis of course material in response to the problem posed by the prompt.
ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES
- All page limits are loose – a little more is fine. All papers are double spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins, in DOC format (not PDF).
- All assignments go into the Google Student Folder, NUMBERED in sequential order, with the ten page paper last.
- Comments inserted into the 1-page assignment DOC responses indicate the evaluation of their quality and provide suggestions for improvement.
- Papers will be judged on all aspects of quality: organized prose in a coherent sequence of paragraphs should focus clearly on the assignment and display a strong understanding of ideas and information from relevant course material. They should organize prose in a coherent sequence of paragraphs and focus clearly on the themes in the prompt to present a firm understanding of the reading, discussions, and class presentations.
- Classroom participation. This grade is based on levels of personal participation in the course. Minimally, students should always show they are paying attention and never get distracted by computers, phones, doodling, daydreams, or chit chat. They should ask questions in class. They should participate in discussions. They should respond intelligently when the instructor asks, “What do you think about this?” Students will also make presentations to generate discussion; these presentations count for one- third of participation grade.
- Concerns about class Students who are concerned for any reason about their ability to participate in the classroom discussion should contact the professor as early as possible to work out a solution.
Course Schedule
NOTE: For NYU e-book readings, you must be signed into NYUHome.
1. Wed. Jan 4. Getting Started.
No reading required. At 4pm, we will have an orientation meeting with our hosts in Bangladesh at the James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University
STUDENT INTRODUCTIONS: please put some sentences introducing yourself into this googledoc. Include any dietary restrictions. Getting this done before the start of the first class is part of your participation grade.
Going over the syllabus, the intellectual framework, and Q&A.
2. Thursday. Jan 5. The Ancient Sea-Space of Mobility. 1-page paper #1 due today by midnight. See Assignments.
In class NYUAD J-Term Traveling Seminar Orientation.
PPT presentation: Plague space in Ancient Rome
Reading:
Raoul McLaughlin, Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the Ancient Lands of Arabia, India and China, pp. 83-111.
Marco Galli, “Beyond frontiers: Ancient Rome and the Eurasian trade networks,” Journal of Eurasian Studies 8 (2017) 3–9 (PDF online)
John Aberth, Plagues in World History, Rowman & Littlefield, 2011, pp.19-33, 73-78.
Catherine Thèves, Eric Crubézy, Philippe Biagini, “History of Smallpox and Its Spread in Human Populations,” Environmental Microbiology,4,4,2016 (PDF online 12pp); and CDC: History of Smallpox (for a quick survey)
Jean-Paul Gonzalez, et al “Pathocoenosis: A Holistic Approach to Disease Ecology,” by EcoHealth, 7, 237-240, 2010. (PDF online)
Danielle Gourevitch,”The Galenic Plague: a Breakdown of the Imperial Pathocoenosis: Pathocoenosis and Longue Durée,” History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2005, 27, 1, 57-69. (PDF online)
Viewing:
“A Brief History of the Plague of Justinian.” Dr. Robert McEachnie. Youtube (22:20)
3. Fri. Jan 5. Land Routes, Plague, and Responses. 1-page paper #2.
In class presentation/discussion: Professor Justin Stearns, “Plague and Contagion in the Premodern Muslim World”
PPT: The Black Plague
Reading:
Lynda Shaffer, “Southernization.” Journal of World History, 5, 1, 1994, 1–21.
Michal Biran, “The Mongol Empire and inter-civilizational exchange” (PDF), Chapter 20 in The Cambridge World History, 2015, pp.534-558 (Cambridge Core Link).
John Aberth, Plagues in World History, Chap 1, pp.34-72.
Luisa Maria Arvide Cambra, “The causes of the Black Death described by Ibn Khātima in the work Taḥṣīl al- garaḍ,” Annals of Review and Research 4, 1, 2018, (2pp) PDF online
Ewen Callaway, “Ancient DNA traces origin of Black Death,” Nature, 15 June 2022. (2pp PDF online)
BBC Website: Dubrovnik: The medieval city designed around quarantine.
Recommended (as potential for final paper: plague is a great topic):
Monica H. Green, “Global Health in a Semi-Globalized World: History of Infectious Diseases in the Medieval Period” IsisCB Special Issue, ed. by Stephen P. Weldon and Neeraja Sankaran. 2021, 21pp.
Justin K. Stearns, Infectious Ideas : Contagion in Premodern Islamic and Christian Thought in the Western Mediterranean. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, 1-36, 79-86.
Plague History PubMed Search results
Nükhet Varlık, “Plague in the Mediterranean/Islamicate World: A Bibliographic Review” IsisCB Special Issue, ed. by Stephen P. Weldon and Neeraja Sankaran. 2021, 28pp.
Dols MW. The second plague pandemic and its recurrences in the Middle East: 1347- 1894. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 22, 2, 1979: 162-89 (PDF online).
William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples. Random House, 1998, pp.94-242.
Justin Stearns, “Essential Readings on Epidemics in the Middle East,” Jadaliyya.com: essential readings. and essay on Islamicate plague treatises.
Sheldon Watts, “The Human Responses to Plague in Western Europe and the Middle East, 1347-1844,” in Sheldon Watts, Epidemics and History, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997, pp.1-39. (PDF online)
Carol Benedict, Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China, Stanford, 1996, pp.1-72, 150-171.
The last great plague pandemic.
4. Sat. Jan 7. The Globalization of Disease. 1-page paper #3.
Reading:
James L. A. Webb, “Globalization of disease, 1300 to 1900,” in The Cambridge World History, pp 54-75.John Aberth, Plagues in World History, Chap 1, pp.101-111.
PPT : The Global Age of Sail
PPT: Global Empires, WW1, and Pandemic Flu
Video: 200 years that changed the world. Is the World a Better Place (get)
Bangladesh GoogleMap
PPT: Locating (Pandemic) Dhaka
Recommended:
Sheldon Watts, “Smallpox in the New World and in the Old: From Holocaust to Eradication, 1518-1977,” Chapter 3, in Sheldon Watts, Epidemics and History, Yale University Pres, 1997, pp.84-121.
Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian, “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24, 2, 2010, 163–188. (PDF online)
Sheldon Watts, “Cholera and Civilization: Great Britain and India, 1817-1920,” in Sheldon Watts, Epidemics and History, Yale University Pres, 1997, 167-212.
Hays and Hays, The Burdens of Disease: Epidemics and Human Response in Western History, Chapter 7, “Cholera and Sanitation,” pp.135-154
Sagaree Jain, “Anti-Asian Racism in the 1817 Cholera Pandemic.” April 2020, (9pp)
Carol Benedict, Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China, Stanford, 1996, pp.1-72.
Myron Echenberg, Africa in the Time of Cholera: A History of Pandemics from 1817 to the Present, Cambridge University Press, 2011, pp.13-86.
David Arnold, “Cholera and Colonialism in British India.” Past & Present, no. 113, 1986, pp. 118–51.
Dr. John Bell (1796-1872), All the material facts in the history of epidemic cholera: being a report of the College of physicians of Philadelphia, to the Board of health: and a full account of the causes, post mortem appearances, and treatment of the disease. Philadelphia: Desilver, 1832.
Cholera in New York City: “Density, Equity, and the History of Epidemics in New York City,”BY RICHARD PLUNZ AND ANDRÉS ÁLVAREZ-DÁVILA |JUNE 30, 2020.
Mon. Jan 9. Travel to Dhaka (no class).
05:00 Meet at Welcome Center for bus to airport
16:20 Arrive Dhaka for trip to Renaissance Hotel
1-page paper #4 due by midnight.
5. Tues-Wed, Jan 10-11: Korail Public Health
Seminar and Field Visit with faculty and researchers at the BRAC University James P. Grant School of Public Health.
1-page paper #5 due at 12 midnight.
08:00 Leave for full day of seminar and field trip with faculty and researchers ad the BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health. Here are the orientation slides, which were discussed at the Zoom orientation on Jan 4, for students visiting Dhaka and for the field visit to the Korail neighborhood.
19:00 Discussion of BRAC presentation projects after dinner at the hotel (on zoom)
6. Wed. Jan 11. Pandemic Public Health
1-page paper #6 due at midnight
8:00 Leave for BRAC seminar with presentations. The “NYU field presentation template” and “Understanding Health Holistically” file are in this folder.
2:30 Return to hotel after lunch at BRAC and do reading below to be prepared for class discussion on Zoom, 4:30-6:00
4:30 Class discussion of BRAC reading below
7:00 Group discussion in meeting room with Alexandra and Paul
Be Prepared to discuss the BRAC reading in this Folder. (Be prepared to discuss Sabina Faiz Rashid, Selima Sara Kabir, Kim Ozano, Sally Theobald,Bachera Aktar and Aisha Siddika, “Scarcity and resilience in the slums of Dhaka city, Bangladesh.” (PDF online.), Daily Star on Covid in the Slums, 2020. (PDF online), and Covid impact in Chittagong (PDF online)
7. Thurs Jan 12: Pathocoenosis Treatment and Research at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
1-page paper #7 due by midnight.
10:00 Class discussion of readings below in hotel (on zoom).
13:00 Depart Hotel for ICDDR,B
19:00 Class Discussion after dinner at hotel.
Reading: Enteric and respiratory infections; explore research themes and.Cholera Report.
Murphy, Michelle. The Economization of Life. Duke University Press, 2017, pp.95-105
ICDDR,B study: 72% slum dwellers carrying Covid antibodies.
‘Rich man’s disease’: Curious case of Covid in Dhaka slums.
Md Taufiqul Islam, John D Clemens, Firdausi Qadri, “Cholera Control and Prevention in Bangladesh: An Evaluation of the Situation and Solutions,” The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 218, Issue suppl_3, 15 November 2018, Pages S171–S172, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy470. (PDF online)
Government of Bangladesh, National Cholera Control Plan, 2019-2030. (PDF online)
Fri Jan 13: No Class. Touring Dhaka and flight back to Abu Dhabi
09:00 depart hotel with all bags packed for the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum and the airport
22:25 Return to NYUAD campus
8. Mon Jan 16. Political Economy and Public Health
1-page paper #8 due by midnight.
In class: (1) be prepared to discuss reading by Paul Farmer and JP Mackenbach (below), but above all, YOU MUST WATCH, take notes on , and be ready to discuss this Al Jazeera video: TIME OF PANDEMICS (45:57). (2) we will also discuss brief preliminary descriptions of final paper themes,
Reading.
Murphy, Michelle. The Economization of Life. Duke University Press, 2017, pp.95-105
Paul Farmer, Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. University of California Press, 2004, pp.1-22, 213-46.
JP Mackenbach, “Politics is nothing but medicine at a larger scale: reflections on public health’s biggest idea,” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 3 December 2008, 181-184. (Good Wikipedia on Rudolph Virchow)
Hays and Hays. The Burdens of Disease: Epidemics and Human Response in Western History. Chapter 9, “Disease, Medicine, and Western Imperialism,” pp.179-213 and Chapter 12, “Disease and Power,” pp. 283-314.
Sandhya Polu, Infectious Disease in India, 1892-1940: Policy-Making and the Perception of Risk, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp.140-157.
Franklin White, Global Public Health: Ecological Foundations, Oxford University Press, 2013, Chap 1, “History, Aims, and Methods of Public Health,” pp. 1-26.
Great Viewing: David Cross: Why America Sucks at Everything – especially health
Jay S. Kaufman, “Science Alone Can’t Heal a Sick Society,” NYTimes, Sept 12, 2021
9. Tues Jan 17. Pandemic Space: Mobility, Immobility, Migrant Workers and Other Foreigners in National Territory
Please attend the Roundtable discussion of “Mobility/Immobility” after class today in A6-001.
1-page paper #9 due at midnight.
Media coverage re COVID-19 & Risks to Migrant Workers in Qatar & the UAE Supply Chain capitalism global connectivity 1
Bangladesh Garment workers Bangladesh migrant workers Internal Migrants and Slums
Dina Siddiqi, “What the Pandemic Reveals: Workers’ Rights in Bangladesh and Garment Supply Chains,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Sept 2, 2020.
Neha Vora, “Pandemic security and insecurity in the Gulf,” SSRC Immanent Frame
Andrea Wright, “No Good Options for Migrant Workers in Gulf COVID-19 Lockdown.” MERIP
Glenn Coin, “Utica embraces its refugees, but they’re bearing the brunt of coronavirus”(Syracuse.com)
Viewing: (36min): Ludden, “Global Pandemic in National Territory.” Oct 5, 2020. And Global Asia Webinar on Migration, Globalization, and Covid-19, Oct 23, 2020.
10. Wed Jan 18. Pandemic Space: Globalization, Capitalist Accumulation, and Imperial Inequity.
1-page paper #10.
Let’s do course evaluations today; here is the update: We have been informed by the Registrar’s Office that the course evaluation system is now open but will end at 11:59 pm on Thursday, January 19. It will be closed on Friday and not available to students after Thursday.
In class: A brief expansion of your final paper.
NOTE: a number of students are interested in the politics of healthcare; its connectiond to the political economy of global capitalism is relevant. Why NGOs are so important? How does “the market” figure in government health policy?
John Aberth, Plagues in World History, pp 111-135. (on 1918 flu)
Maura Chhun, “1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians …” The Conversation. April 17, 2020.
David Patterson and Gerald Pyle, “ The diffusion of influenza in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1918–1919 pandemic,” Social Science & Medicine, 17, 1, 1983, 1299-
Paul Farmer, “Ebola, Spanish Flu and the Memory of disease,“ Critical Inquiry, 46, 2019, 56-71.
David Ludden, “Imperial Modernity: history and global inequity
in rising Asia,” Third World Quarterly, Published online: 30 Apr 2012.
India Today: “How Covid-19 crisis has exposed India’s growing wealth gap”
Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Sundaram, “Privatized Healthcare Worsens Pandemic.” (2pp)
Human Rights Watch, “United States: Pandemic Impact on People in Poverty,” 2021.
Oxfam report: “The Inequality Virus”
Pandemics and the Poor,” The Brookings Institute, 2017.
Nancy Tomes, “’Destroyer and Teacher”: Managing the Masses During the 1918-1919 Flu Pandemic.” Public Health Reports, 2010, 125, 48-62.
11. Thurs Jan 19. Pandemic Space in the Anthropocene
REMEMBER: Course evaluations.
Reading:
New York Times: Cholera Outbreaks Today, and Discovering Black Plague Immunity Gene.
Nature, September 2022: “Evolution of immune genes is associated
with the Black Death,” by Jennifer Klunk et al
World Economic Forum, “Coronavirus isn’t an outlier,,,”
Pierre-Marie David, Nicolas Le Dévédec, Anouck Alary, “Pandemics in the age of the Anthropocene: Is ‘planetary health’ the answer?” Global Public Health, 16, 2021, 8-9: “Politics and Pandemics,” 1141-1154 (PDF online)
NCBI Review of Mike Davis, The Monster Enters: COVID 19, Avian Flu, and the Plagues of Capitalism. New York and London: OR Books. 205 pp. (PDF online 4pp)
Jeff Tollefson, “Why deforestation makes pandemics more likely,” Nature, 584, 13 August 2020 (online PDF) (2pp)
Institute of Medicine, et al. The Influence of Global Environmental Change on Infectious Disease Dynamics. Workshop Summary, edited by Alison Mack, and Eileen R. Choffnes, National Academies Press, 2014.
John Aberth, Plagues in World History, pp.135-179.
AIDS mortality Map 2017.
Covid-19: An Occupational Disease. Where Frontline Workers are Best Protected. GlobalUnion, 2013, 13pp.
WHO official says Booster shots “make a mockery of vaccine equity. NYT 20 Aug21
D.Bhattacharya et al, “Dealing with the Aftermath of Covid-19: Adjustments and Adaptation Efforts of the Apparel Workers in Bangladesh.” Citizen’s Platform Working Paper 6, Dhaka, 2022. 25pp.
Xiaoping Fang. China and the Cholera Pandemic: Restructuring Society under Mao, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021.
Patricia Siplon, “The Troubled Path to HIV/AIDS Universal Treatment Access: Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory?” Chapter 1, in Global HIV/AIDS Politics, Policy, and Activism : Persistent Challenges and Emerging Issues, edited by Raymond A. Smith, and Raymond A Smith, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013, pp.3-26.
12. Fri Jan 20. Class Presentations.
Final 10 page paper due at midnight.
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POLICY STATEMENTS
Attendance Statement:
Due to the condensed nature of J-term, each absence is the equivalent of missing a full week in a regular semester – with less of an opportunity to make up for missed material. Each unexcused absence results in the deduction of one mark from the final course grade (e.g. from an A- to a B+). Excusing absence is at the discretion of the instructor. Students who miss more than three classes, excused or unexcused, cannot pass the course. If the absences are excused, the student will be withdrawn from the course. If more than one of the absences is unexcused, the student will fail the course.
Academic Integrity:
At NYU Abu Dhabi, a commitment to excellence, fairness, honesty, and respect within and outside the classroom is essential to maintaining the integrity of our community. By accepting membership in this community, students, faculty, and staff take responsibility for demonstrating these values in their own conduct and for recognizing and supporting these values in others. In turn, these values create a campus climate that encourages the free exchange of ideas, promotes scholarly excellence through active and creative thought, and allows community members to achieve and be recognized for achieving their highest potential. As part of the NYU global network, NYUAD students are also subject to NYU’s all-school policy on Academic Integrity for Students at NYU. Alleged integrity violations are resolved using NYUAD’s Academic Integrity Procedure
Moses Center for Student Accessibility (CSA): mosescsa@nyu.edu
New York University is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with disabilities. CSA works with students to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations that support equal access to a world-class education. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Disability-related information is never disclosed without student permission. If you have any questions or would like to have further information about the Moses Center, please visit the following link.
Health Resources:
As a University student, you may experience a range of issues that can interfere with your ability to perform academically or impact your daily functioning, such as heightened stress, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, strained relationships, grief and loss, personal struggles. If you have any well-being or mental health concerns please visit the Counseling Center on the ground floor of the campus center from 9am-5pm, Monday – Friday, or schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor by calling: 02-628-8100, or emailing: nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu. If you require mental health support outside of these hours, call NYU’s Wellness Exchange hotline at 02-628-5555, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also utilize the Wellness Exchange mobile chat feature, details of which you can find on the student portal. These services are available remotely for students studying outside of the UAE.
Religious Holidays:
Students need to make sure they are familiar with the provisions and obligations of The University Calendar Policy on Religious Holidays, which states, in part: “Students who anticipate being absent because of any religious observance should, whenever possible, notify faculty in advance of such anticipated absence.”
APPENDIX 1
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) for Core courses:
1) Critically examine historical and contemporary topics of global significance, which includes formulating clear, precise questions and arriving at well-reasoned conclusions using
a) qualitative,
b) quantitative,
c) contextual, and
d) creative modes of reasoning;
2) Communicate effectively for various audiences and purposes, including participation in public settings;
3) Demonstrate self-understanding and intercultural competency; and
4) Identify and reflect critically on conceptual and ethical complexity.