Author, historian and educator to present online lecture on the history of epidemiology on Feb. 23
Author and educator Jim Downs will give an online lecture at 5 p.m. Feb. 23 to students, faculty and staff members of Maryville College on the history of epidemiology, an event that is also open to members of the public.
Dr. Downs is a Gilder Lehrman-National Endowment for the Humanities professor of Civil War-era studies and history at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The author and editor of seven books, the title of his lecture is borrowed from his most recent work, published last year — “Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery and War Transformed Medicine.”
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Downs’ presentation is a timely one that will allow students and members of the community to hear from an expert on the history of epidemiology and the development of public health, according to Dr. Phillip Sherman, associate professor of religion and chair of the Division of Humanities at Maryville College.
“His work on the history of epidemiology will highlight the importance of the humanities and natural sciences working together; focus on the term ‘medical humanities’; and raise questions connected to a variety of timely issues such as medical racism and how epidemiology and public health developed historically,” Sherman said.
The lecture is a joint presentation of the MC Division of Humanities and the Scots Science Scholars, a program that provides financial aid and academic enrichment and support for select students who are interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math). “Maladies of Empire,” published by Harvard University Press, “shows that the study of infectious disease depended crucially on the unrecognized contributions of nonconsenting subjects — conscripted soldiers, enslaved people and subjects of empire,” according to the book’s description.
Despite the grim origins of the research — military doctors learned about the importance of air quality by monitoring Africans confined to the bottoms of slave ships, for example — it has since become the foundation stone for physicians, scientists and researchers who build on that knowledge to protect people from contemporary epidemics like COVID-19.
“Many of the foundational methods of epidemiology — data collection, medical surveillance and mapping — are based on observation and analysis of populations subject to unspeakable brutality and oppression,” said Dr. Aaron Astor, associate professor of history at MC. “We are trained in the liberal arts tradition to view matters of the world holistically — to integrate the disciples of natural and social sciences with those of the humanities. Dr. Downs brings this interdisciplinary approach to the study of medical science itself, and in particular the field of epidemiology as it emerged in the age of colonialism and slavery.
“As we digest research into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic today, Dr. Downs’ presentation reminds us of the humanity of the people too often known to the world as mere data points in the advancement of medicine,” Astor added.
To join the lecture, email Wendy Specter, administrative assistant in the Division of Humanities, for a Zoom link: wendy.specter@maryvillecollege.edu.