Pandemics: From 1918—To The Future

Curriculum

Curricular Bookend topics: past and present topics from pandemics and the effects of viruses:
Past: Historical Pandemics: Conquest; Mongols use germ warfare in the 13th century; note the American colonial interactions with native Americans; also trail of tears;
Today: Social, pol, eco, impact of aids; Africa and also now former Soviet Union.  How can pandemics be placed against the rise of economic growth? Economic concerns, such as pharmaceutical companies: who will get the drug?  Is there enough to go around?  Cost related to purchase?
Interdisciplinary final report: Depending on the class composition, it might be good to have students research and critique the pandemic plans of their home county or country.

• Historiography: Give students the stats: 40-50 million; 123 died in Boston one day, September 26, 1918; 1101 at camp Sherman in Ohio.  Then have students (seniors) go back to their junior year history books to find what is there; the lack of information will create good questions that might also help students navigate their research about their present local counties plans for avian flu.

• Economics: Measure historical consequences by loss of commerce, commercial production, etc.  For instance, today, the production of poultry around the world is down!  Show present phenomena to help students find data for the 1918/19 events.

• Science: units to explain and learn nature of viruses, microbes, etc; resurrect, review and add nuances to Bio current Suffield Biology curriculum.  Possible experiments could include Bacterial and Viral Experiments to demonstrate an understanding of Koch’s Postulates.

• History of the science of virus; Koch’s Postulates; explain how we sequence the organism with new biotechnology.
  Influenza:
  1918 H1N1 40-50 million
  1957 H2N2 2 million
  1968 H3N2
  

• Cultural/social history of the day; explore what uses were used to fight the disease, such as the use of masks; examine primary source historical documents; explore economic data to trace global effects.
  

• Diplomatic history: Wilson suffered from the flu and it affected his work in Paris; other sources show the pandemic to be the cause for ending the war.

• American Literature: Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Good summary found on this page: http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1100 This web site is celebrating “10 Year Anniversary Book, Editors' Choices from The Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database, (see order form) and its corresponding on-line version (see left panel): editor-annotators discuss the literature, art, and films they consider most valuable for medical humanities teaching and related scholarship (published October 2003)” Great suggestions on art, literature, etc, regarding pandemics and other related medical subjects.
  Following link is an NPR story of Alice McDermott’s appreciation for the novel; this appreciation supplies a synopsis of the story’s pivotal moments.

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6184364

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