Prerequisites: ENGL 102 with a grade of C or higher, and a course fulfilling the History and Humanities GER 200 level course with a grade of C or higher. Attempts to protect the health of human populations from the Black Death in medieval Europe to recent threats from epidemics and chemical and biological terrorism. Shifting patterns of disease and the emergence and growth of public health as a domain of expert knowledge and policy. Topics include epidemiology and statistical modes of inquiry; the tension between civil liberties and public health; the economics of health and disease; and the relationship between medicine and public health. This course may be used to satisfy a three credit 300 level GER in History and Humanities.