This fall is the centennial of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which swept around the globe that year and caused an estimated 40 million deaths worldwide. It caused more deaths in the 20th century than any other event except World War II. In this seminar we will examine this pandemic from multiple perspectives with the goal of defining how understanding it changed from the time it occurred to the present. In class, we will examine contemporary journalistic and scientific accounts and various secondary sources, with the goal of establishing a starting point for student research projects that will be completed over the second half of the semester. We will explore sources in Olin Special Collections, various digital archives, Middletown and Connecticut State archives, and other collections as available. Possible outcomes for the class can be a paper, documentary, exhibition, or web resource. |