Postgraduate Course: Medicine, Science and Society in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy (HIST11010)
Course Outline
| School |
School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
History |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None |
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| Course description |
Medieval and Renaissance history of medicine and history of science are two well-established fields of studies in the humanities. Their teaching, however, has often remained constrained within History and Philosophy of Science Departments. In recent decades the methodological contributions of social and cultural history have done much to change the field, producing much innovative research that has made the history of science and the history of medicine much more integrated within mainstream social, intellectual and cultural history. The present course aims to strengthen the current offerings in the history of medicine and the history of science in the School. It builds on recent scholarship in order to introduce students to elements of the history of science and medicine that are very relevant to the study of late medieval and Renaissance society at large. Given the substantial body of primary sources and scholarship available, this course will concentrate mostly on Italy, with occasional references to other European countries as a source of comparison. |
Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites |
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| Prohibited Combinations |
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Other requirements |
None
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| Additional Costs |
None |
Course Delivery Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the course will have acquired an advanced knowledge and understanding of key aspects of the history of medicine and science in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In particular, they will have gained an understanding of:
-- the changing views of the body and its functions in pre-modern societies;
--the cultural and social significance of disease;
--the place of medicine and medical practitioners within a large world of healing that included a wide range of religious and magical techniques;
--the variety of professional figures that occupied the fields of medicine and natural philosophy;
--the importance of different institutional settings in determining the way knowledge was produced and disseminated;
--the way pre-modern western societies constructed their world-view and their own place within the universe;
--the ability to assess primary sources by placing them in their historical context;
--the ability to contribute actively to class discussion and express ideas in a coherent and cogent fashion;
--the ability to write cogently and persuasively about an historical topic.
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Assessment Information
| Students are required to write one essay of approximately 3,000 words, accounting for 100% of assessment for the course. |
| Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Monica Azzolini
Tel: (0131 6)50 9964
Email: m.azzolini@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mr Nicholas Ovenden
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: Niko.Ovenden@ed.ac.uk |
|
copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 6:08 am
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