The purpose of this course will be to help students think historically. When historians study the past, they are invariably affected by their current moment. In turn, the study of the past enables us to see the present in a new light. The present affects the questions we pose to our historical evidence, while study of the past raises new questions about our own historical moment. To help you learn how to think in this way, we will study the current Covid pandemic in light of research into past pandemics. Students will share the fruits of their new historical awareness by collaboratively creating a website that will place the Covid pandemic into historical context.
The purpose of this course will be to help students think historically. When historians study the past, they are invariably affected by their current moment. In turn, the study of the past enables us to see the present in a new light. The present affects the questions we pose to our historical evidence, while study of the past raises new questions about our own historical moment. To help you learn how to think in this way, we will study the current Covid pandemic in light of research into past pandemics. Students will share the fruits of their new historical awareness by collaboratively creating a website that will place the Covid pandemic into historical context.
In early 2020, Covid-19 swept across the globe and changed our world. Almost overnight, “life” went virtual, and the pandemic highlighted complex issues of politics, leadership, education, race, and class. Major portions of the world economy shut down. Pollution fell dramatically in urban areas, and as people moved out of public spaces wildlife moved in. Scholars from across the College of Arts and Sciences will hold a mirror up to the social, economic, and environmental disruption of the pandemic to examine our emerging new world and examine how resilience develops in a time of crisis. The course format will be a series of TED-style talks, with conversations among faculty and students about questions related to cultural and social response to the pandemic. 3 credits; will fulfill Core 7.1.
In early 2020, Covid-19 swept across the globe and changed our world. Almost overnight, “life” went virtual, and the pandemic highlighted complex issues of politics, leadership, education, race, and class. Major portions of the world economy shut down. Pollution fell dramatically in urban areas, and as people moved out of public spaces wildlife moved in. Scholars from across the College of Arts and Sciences will hold a mirror up to the social, economic, and environmental disruption of the pandemic to examine our emerging new world and examine how resilience develops in a time of crisis. The course format will be a series of TED-style talks, with conversations among faculty and students about questions related to cultural and social response to the pandemic. 3 credits; will fulfill Core 7.1.