China Event: John C. Burnham Lecture in the History of Medicine/Science with William Summers

The University of Ohio presents the John C. Burnham Lecture in the History of Medicine/Science with a presentation by William Summers

"Mandarins, Microbes, and Marmots: The Great Manchurian Plague and Early Disease Ecology"

The epidemic of pneumonic plague that scourged Northeast China in 1910-1911, and which killed over 40 thousand people, was the last major outbreak in the current plague pandemic period.  This plague, spread through a China suffering the weakness of the decaying Qing dynasty and the intense international rivalries for access to trade and influence in this part of China. The Manchurian plague was the first opportunity to study epidemic pneumonic plague with the new tools of modern germ theories and laboratory investigations. These investigations into the causes and contexts of the plague represent one of the earliest examples of the ecological approach to epidemic disease.

William C. Summers, Yale University, specializes in the history of science and medicine and the history of Chinese science and medicine. Summers has done extensive research on Chinese public health and medicine, publishing articles on historic parallels between Chinse and Western medical development, Chinese government medical policy, and acupuncture.

Additional information: 614-292-3001

Sponsor: Department of History
 

Location TBD