The Plague of Justinian (541-549 AD) killed a quarter of the population of the Byzantine Empire and precipitated its fall. The Black Death (1346-1353) killed 50% of the people of Europe and led to the collapse of the feudal system. The Spanish Flu (1918-1920) caused the death of up to 100 million people, and following the carnage of WWI remade modern society. The HIV/AIDS pandemic (1980-to date) has cost over 40 million lives and reshaped social and political norms. COVID19 is the latest society-changing pandemic which lingers with us today. How did all this happen?
- William Rosen: Justinian’s Flea (Viking, 2007, 978-0670038558)
- Norman Cantor: In the Wake of the Plague (Simon & Schuster, 2001, 0-7434-3035-2)
- Laura Spinney: Pale Rider (Public Affairs, 2017, 987-1-61039-767-4)
- Peter Curson & Kevin McCracken: Plague in Sydney (NSW UP, nd, 0-86840-219-2)
- Alan Whiteside: HIV/AIDS – a Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2016, 978-0198727491)
- Pandemic plagues have the capacity to upend all social and political order, destroying old regimes and creating new ones.
- Plagues in the ancient world were uncontrollable and their management impossible, but modern pandemics require political as well as medical leadership.
- Some nations manage pandemics better than others – why? The answer is not medical but political.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Understanding that uncontrollable factors can change the course of history.
- Appreciate that in pandemics political leadership is as important as medical intervention.
