HSCI 322
Medieval Islamic Medicine Fall 2015
Division II
Cross-listed REL 283 / ARAB 281
This is not the current course catalog

Medieval Islamic Medicine embodies both a medical tradition that deserves historical study in itself, and a relevant period of medical history with a deep impact on the development of the Western Medical Tradition. Paradoxically, while it is highly idealized, it has traditionally gained –and often still does today–a fleeting, superficial and outdated overview in the syllabi of history of medicine courses at medical schools, and only exceptionally has a well informed chapter been included in recent general works on history of medicine or Islamic studies. The aim of this course is to two-fold: first, to give students an overview of the Islamic medical tradition, outlining its origins and development both in the eastern and western lands of medieval Islamic civilization, and second, to develop students’ critical skills in analyzing historical information as well as bibliography. Among other things, the course will consider the transmission and elaboration of Greco-Roman medical knowledge, the principles of medical theory and practice, the development of different genres of Islamic medical literature, their main authors, and their medical contributions.