HIST 234: Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600
Lecture 12 - Syphilis: From the "Great Pox" to the Modern Version. There is a longstanding debate over the origins of syphilis, in which arguments over how the disease arrived in Europe have historically been linked to racist and xenophobic ideologies as well as to scientific and historical research. Whatever its provenance, the major syphilis epidemic of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries spread in the train of war, alongside Charles VIII of France's armies. Syphilis was distinguished both by its catholicity, targeting kings as well as paupers, and its mode of transmission. The disease's evident contagiousness served both as grist for a religious interpretation, emphasizing asceticism and divine punishment, and as a major challenge to the humoral theory of disease. (from oyc.yale.edu)
| Lecture 12 - Syphilis: From the "Great Pox" to the Modern Version |
| Time | Lecture Chapters |
| [00:00:00] | 1. Comparative Questions about Diseases |
| [00:12:37] | 2. Syphilis: Background |
| [00:17:30] | 3. Origins |
| [00:29:16] | 4. Etiology and Symptomatology |
| [00:36:15] | 5. Societal Effects |
| References |
| Lecture 12 - Syphilis: From the "Great Pox" to the Modern Version Instructor: Professor Frank Snowden. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov]. |
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