INQ-271 | Women and Healthcare in America

Full Title: Women and Healthcare in America

Topic Description:

This course investigates the history of women and healthcare in the United States, covering the late 18th through the 20th centuries. The primary questions that will focus our work this semester are: How did American women experience and contribute to the American healthcare system as medical practitioners, as patients, as public health professionals, and as health care advocates, and how did their experiences change over time? Topics will include the history of reproductive health, racial and gender bias in care, eugenics, the development of medical training programs for women, disability rights advocacy, gender identity, and the role of religion in women’s health and healthcare. Students will learn through the reading of primary and secondary sources, classroom discussion, and lecture, with a focus on historical methodology.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: March 2025