This class studies the underlying causes and consequences of the Black Death and the second plague pandemic of 1346 -1722 across Europe and Western Asia. We consider the synergistic effects that ultimately led to the 30-70% mortality from a biological and cultural/social perspective with guest lectures from leading historians, climatologists, geneticists and rodent ecologists. What were the pandemic's origins, its root causes (biological and other) and the ultimate consequences on the socio-economic fabric of Europe? We consider the ongoing epidemics in Madagascar, South America and the American Southwest.
This class studies the underlying causes and consequences of the Black Death and the second plague pandemic of 1346 -1722 across Europe and Western Asia. We consider the synergistic effects that ultimately led to the 30-70% mortality from a biological and cultural/social perspective with guest lectures from leading historians, climatologists, geneticists and rodent ecologists. What were the pandemic's origins, its root causes (biological and other) and the ultimate consequences on the socio-economic fabric of Europe? We consider the ongoing epidemics in Madagascar, South America and the American Southwest.
