HIST2716MIDTERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE –Spring Semester 2020
Short-Answer Questions(25 points total)
This section will include several multiple-choice, matching and/or sorting questions based on the material covered so far in lectures and readings. They may include key terms or concepts, individuals, or trends including(but not limited to)the identification terms listed below. These questions willbe presented with allpossible answers availableas multiple choice options, matchingcolumns, etc.(there will be no free-response itemsin this short-answer section).
Identification Responses(40 points total)
Below are two lists of terms we have encountered in reading assignments and lectures.Each identification answershould be 3-4 sentences long, and will be worth 10 points. For each identification response you must define the term as fully as you can AND explain why it is significant in our study ofmedicalhistory.FOUR (4) terms from eachfollowinglist will appear on your midterm exampaper, and you will be asked to identify TWO (2) terms from each list (4 terms total).
LIST #1
Benjamin Rush
Edward Jenner
Martha Ballard
John Snow
Louis Pasteur
Robert Koch
Ignaz Semmelweis
Mary Putnam Jacobi
“Edinburgh Seven”
LIST #2
forceps
“seasoning”
miasmatic theory
polygenesis
neurasthenia
homeopathy
“pavilion” hospital
vivisection
osteopathy
Essay Questions(60 points total)
This portion of the exam will require you to combine information and examples from all course materials:thenarrativeunit chapters, lectures, and primary sources. Make sure you read all parts of the prompt carefully and address each part clearly in your answer, using as many examples and details as you can to support your answer.THREE (3) of the following prompts will appear on your exam, and you will choose TWO (2) to answer.Remember,each essayresponseis worth 30 points, and together, both responses are worth more than an entire letter in your overall course grade! Take time to study and prepare your thoughts before the exam, and show me what you have learned.
1.Which of thethreefollowing factors do you think was most important in the development of “modern”medical practices: scientific discoveries, professional regulation, orlifestyle changes?Howdid disease constructs (including classifications, therapies, and cures) changebetween1700 and the late 1800s, and how didfactorslikeethnicity, race,and social class influencethosedisease constructs?Use specific examples and details to support your answers.
2.What were the most pressingpublichealth issues (including epidemic diseases, living conditions, etc.) of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?How did public health responses evolve in America and Europeduring that time period, and whichparts of societyhave assumed responsibility for making public health decisionsand recommendations?Use specific examples and details to support your answers.
3.How did women’s roles in medicine evolve from the eighteenth to the late nineteenth century? Describe some of the majorcaregivingcategories that have been occupied by women during that time period, and howwomen in medicineinteracted withtheirmale counterparts. How did Victorian understandings of femininity and sexual determinism impact women’s opportunities as practitioners?Use specific examples and details to support your answers.
4.In what waysdid “irregular” practitioners criticize traditional medical practices in the nineteenth century?Compare and contrast the impact of heroic therapies, environmental-moral therapies, and specific reductionism, and provide several examples of alternative medical perspectives and professions,consideringwhat was new, and not new, about their approaches to treatment and prevention.What factors contributedto the growing influence of regular(“allopathic”)medicine by the late nineteenth century?Use specific examples and details to support your answers.
5.Describe the evolution in theories of disease transmission from miasmatic theory to germ theory.In what ways did germ theories of diseasechange medical practicesin the late nineteenth century?How didscientific medicine,specific reductionism,and germ theories influence public perspectives on health(including lifestyle choices), and how did some skeptics argue against scientific medicine?Use specific examples and details to support your answers.