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Courses - Winter 2026
HIST
History Department Site
HIST338O
Special Topics in History; The Origins of US Health Care
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Examines the origins of the American Medical Association in the 1800s and analyzes the difficulties orthodox medicine faced in displacing more accepted disciplines such as homeopathy and patent medicine distribution. Tracks the AMA's efforts to cultivate ties with corporate America, academic science, and the growing pharmaceutical industry to reshape healthcare and concepts of disease. Concludes with an analysis of the strong ties between modern medicine and eugenics and an examination of the 1911 Flexner Report, which created a template for medical care that we still live with today.