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A Bibliography of the History of Public Health in Pre-Industrial Societies
This is a list of secondary sources with direct bearing on the history of public health before c. 1750. It is predominantly European and Mediterranean, although we are gradually expanding the geographical coverage of studies concerning population-level, preventative interventions in pre-modernity. Wherever possible, we added links to works that are freely and fully available online, that is, they neither hide behind pay walls nor require membership or any other form of (pre)registration to be accessed.
We are currently opening up our bibliography to crowdsourced input. You can have access to the dynamically updateable bibliography here. All users have commenting privileges – please make additions or comments as you see fit. This will close at the end of September to be compiled and republished.
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Black Death and Public Health Teaching Module for Undergraduates
The present module introduces advanced undergraduates to the events known as the Black Death (1347-1352) and situates them in the broader culture of medieval public health or premodern prophylactics. It is divided into two teaching units of equal length and interchangeable order: premodern public health theory, policy and practice can operate as an introductory context for the various impacts of plague, while an exploration of Black Death can also be a starting point for discussing prophylactic medicine and urban hygiene more broadly. Together they question whether the second plague pandemic triggered any and all preventative interventions, and illustrate Galenic medicine’s overall influence on prophylactic measures at the population level both before and after its onset. You can download the module here.
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A List of Relevant Major Conferences
This is a list of major conferences relevant to the study of public health in premodern urban contexts. You can check the list here.