Danse Macabre: The Black Death Through the Global Health Lens
Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact the Black Death outbreak of 1347-1352 on medical thought. To do so this project will compare contemporary responses to outbreaks to that of the fourteenth century. To do so this project compares contemporary approaches to health to that of the fourteenth century. In order to complete this historical analysis this research analyzed various sources written in post-Black Death Eurasia for how the Black Death changed medical thought. Through this analysis, it has become clear that the medieval Black Death outbreak helped to promote Contagion theory, the idea disease spreads through people, animals, and trade goods by mode of direct, and indirect contact. This development led to the onset of biomedical thought, which became the cornerstone of modern medicine. As the globe becomes ever more interconnected and complex, microbial medicine is no longer the only factor in medical thought, an inclusion of various other social and economic factors has led to the understanding of health and medicine through a holistic lens. This research recognizes and analyses this phenomenon, beginning with the onset of the Black Death.