6 ECTS credits
162 h study time
Offer 2 with catalog number 4023489ENW for working students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.
Pandemics, or diseases that affect very wide areas, are everything but a new phenomenon. This course is organised around the case studies of specific pandemics in four different periods in history. First we will look at the Antonine, the Cyprian and the Justinianic Plagues, which struck the Near East, the Mediterranean and many parts of Europe in the second, third and sixth centuries AD. The second case study will focus on the Black Death, or the 14th-century outbreak of the plague, which, according to some, reduced the population of medieval Europe by half and the world population by one quarter. Next on the list is the smallpox and syphilis pandemics which decimated the original population of the Americas after their conquest by European forces in the sixteenth century. The fourth case study zooms in on the Great Influenza Epidemic (also known as the Spanish Flu), the pandemic which caused devastation between 1918 and 1920 and, allegedly, killed off more people than the First World War. For each of these pandemics, an introductory lecture will set out the historical context of the period. In the other classes of the case study, students will explore original primary sources and secondary literature that tell us about the epidemiology and the spread of the disease as well as its social, economic and cultural consequences.
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Upon completion of the course, students can:
- compare the spread, mortality and impact of pandemics across historical periods and assess their role as agents of historical change
- evaluate the interaction between human agency, the environmental context and structural societal factors throughout history
- assess and reflect critically on primary sources and multidisciplinary secondary literature about historical pandemics
- formulate their insights and reflections in a structured way, both orally and in writing, and can conduct a structured discussion
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 5% of the final mark.
LEC Presentation determines 20% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 75% of the final mark.
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Within the LEC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:
The final grade is based on:
-Written final paper of 4000-5000 words: 75% of the final mark. Students need to have a sufficient mark for the final paper in order to pass for the course. Papers that have not been submitted in time will be considered as not submitted (unless decided differently in consultation with the course convenor), which means that the student cannot pass the course.
-Oral presentation: 20% of the final mark. Preparatory reading of secondary literature and primary sources is mandatory for all students but one group of students will be asked to report orally on one piece of literature at the start of the 2nd and 3rd class of each case study.
-Active participation: 5% of the final mark. Active participation in the courses is measured by attendance, having completed the preparatory reading and actively participating in the discussions. Students who fail to attend the 2nd or 3rd class of a case study will be asked to do a replacement assignment.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of History: default (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Political Science: European and International Governance: Standaard traject
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: History (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Art History and Heritage Studies (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Philosophy (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Ethics and Humanism (only offered in Dutch)