Medicine Through Time - John Snow and Cholera, 1813-58

About this Course

About the Course

In this course, Professor Pamela Gilbert (University of Florida) looks at the 1854 cholera outbreak in England and the role played by John Snow in the pandemic. In the first module, we look at Britain’s first impressions of cholera, before in the second module turning to consider the improvements that were made to sanitation in 19th century England. In the third module, we look at John Snow’s works, including, most importantly, his On the Method of Communication of Cholera (1849). In the fourth module, we look at Snow’s involvement in the cholera outbreak surrounding the Broad Street Pump in 1854, before in the fifth and final module looking at the relationship between cholera and maps in Britain and India.

About the Lecturer

Professor Pamela Gilbert is a Professor of English at the University of Florida. Her research interests include the history of the body and medicine in the 19th century. Some of her recent publications include Cholera and Nation (2008), Mapping the Victorian Social Body (2004) and Disease, Desire and the Body in Victorian Women’s Popular Novels (1997).