When looking back on history, it is evident to see that humans by nature are warriors. Humans often find themselves fighting mysterious battles against disguised enemies. Throughout history the earth has been afflicted with mysterious diseases, which tend to invisibly cause the preponderance of civilizations to perish. The evolution of infectious diseases has and always will provide challenges for humankind (Hoff, Smith, and Calisher 6-7). Over the course of time, humans gradually developed a preference to live in large urban settings. Urbanization and the cross-cultural interaction of civilizations have both strongly provoked widespread illness, which is known as an epidemic or pandemic based upon size. An epidemic is when a common disease affects a large number of people within a particular region (Lamb). A pandemic is similar to an epidemic but is even more widespread than an epidemic, and spreads throughout entire continents or even the world. Despite the slight variation in meaning, most pandemics are interchangeably denoted as epidemics (Friendlander 13-14). Epidemics and pandemics have formed the course of human history by inflicting lifestyle alterations and abruptly killing large masses of people. When one thinks of widespread disease it is easy to think that pandemics and epidemics are things of the past. Unfortunately, epidemics are commonly found today in poorer countries and major pandemics are still on the rise, such as the modern disease AIDS (Lampton 12-15). Nonetheless, epidemics and pandemics affect large portions of the world’s population; thus, these ongoing diseases will always influence the history of mankind because they force transformation amongst even the strongest civilizations.
When looking back on wo...
... middle of paper ...
...rint.
Boccaccio, Giovanni. "Introduction." Introduction. Trans. David Burr. The Decameron. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Boccaccio on the Plague. Virginia Tech History Department. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Friedlander, Mark P. Outbreak: Disease Detectives at Work. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2000. Print.
Hoff, Brent, Carter Smith, and Charles H. Calisher. Mapping Epidemics: A Historical Atlas of Disease. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000. Print.
Lamb, Robert. "10 Worst Epidemics." Discovery Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
Lampton, Christopher. Epidemic. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1992. Print.
"A Letter From Camp Devins, MA." Letter. 29 Sept. 1918. PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Oleksy, Walter G. The Black Plague. New York: F. Watts, 1982. Print.
Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. David Grene. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1989. 115-18. Print.
Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a cause for distress; a quick trip to the store and a few days of rest is the current cure. An infection considered easily treatable today could have meant disablement, even death to an ancient Greek citizen.
Mary Lowth, “Plagues, pestilence and pandemics: Deadly diseases and humanity,” Practice Nurse, 16, (2012): 42-46
Krebsbach, Suzanne. “The Great Charlestown Smallpox Epidemic of 1760.” The South Carolina Historical Magazine 97, no. 1 (1996): 30-37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27570134.
Since Plagues and Peoples covers several subjects of knowledge, he helps the reader understand key concepts by fully explaining parasitism and its dependence on humans and animals. People in the field of history, which make up a majority of this books audience, would need more insight into epidemiology to grasp its key concepts. It would not be likely for a historian to be knowledgeable in a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in populations.
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) was a conflict between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta that resulted in the end of the Golden Age of Athens. The events of the war were catalogued by the ancient historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ writings showed the ancient Greek belief that there is a parallel between the city-state and the character of its citizens; in order for the city-state to be successful, its citizens must be virtuous. Thucydides did not believe that the true cause of the Peloponnesian War were the immediate policies of the Athenian Empire against the city-states in the Peloponnesian League but rather the fundamental differences in the character of the two city-states
The book written by Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, contains two controversial debates between distinguished speakers of Athens. The two corresponding sides produce convincing arguments which can be taken as if produced as an honest opinion or out of self-interest. The two debates must be analyzed separately in order to conclude which one and which side was speaking out of honest opinion or self-interest, as well as which speakers are similar to each other in their approach to the situation.
Lapaire, Pierre J. "The Plague: Overview." Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.
Before I go any further, I feel that I should clarify the difference between the terms epidemic and endemic disease. An epidemic disease is a disease that enters into a population and completely ravages it. Epidemics are particularly destructive because they are usually diseases that have never been introduced into that specific population. A good example of an epidemic is the bubonic plague, or smallpox. Smallpox uncontrollably ravaged Europe for more than two hundred years....
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Peloponnesian War (ancient Greek History)."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2014
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
The causes of the Peloponnesian War proved to be too great between the tension-filled stubborn Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. As Thucydides says in Karl Walling’s article, “Never had so many human beings been exiled, or so much human blood been shed” (4). The three phases of the war, which again, are the Archidamian war, the Sicilian Expedition and the Decelean war, show the events that followed the causes of the war, while also showing the forthcoming detrimental effects that eventually consumed both Athens and eventually Sparta effectively reshaping Greece.
A pandemic is an outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads through human populations across a large region, whether that be multiple continents or worldwide. In order to be considered a pandemic, a disease must cross international boundaries and be contagious or infectious. Pandemics are usually caused by a new virus strain that humans have either very little or no immunity against. This contagious virus spreads easily from person to person, through direct contact or coughing and sneezing. A serious illness is caused worldwide from the virus, wiping out entire populations. Some of the deadliest pandemics include the Black Death, the Spanish influenza, and the second cholera pandemic.
Emerging diseases have been a threat to humanity for centuries. The many technological advances have allowed scientists to discover the ways, in which these diseases can be controlled and, in some cases, eradicated. By definition, emerging diseases are those diseases that have emerged on specific geographical locations where they were not recorded previously, or diseases that already exist on a specific geographical area but are rapidly spreading throughout a population (Jorge R. Ray, 2015). There are different ways of how these diseases can be spread out. Some examples of this are inappropriate interactions between humans and animals, environmental changes, and interactions with people that have travel internationally. These are some of the
Media depiction of epidemics is an interesting approach in discussing relationship of biology and society, as well as community and population. The film Contagion (2011) uses the “outbreak narratives” where human relationships expand beyond nation-wide boundaries (Lecture 14, 2015). Similar to the Outbreak film (1995), Contagion illustrates how a virus, which was revealed to be a mix of bat and pig viruses, is able to transmit throughout the world. This gives the viewers an insight to the power of contagion.
The Geography of disease is a fascinating topic to learn about simply because the possibilities of researching various diseases world wide and locally are endless. Each disease is unique in its own way and they greatly impact citizens both positivey and negatively. As a group, we researched upon multiple diseases including: Cholera, Rubella, Asthma, Lyme Disease, Avian Flu (also referred to as Bird's Flu), Hantavirus and three forms of Hepatitis (A,B,C).