Historical, medical perspective of COVID-19 offered online by ��ӽ紫ý humanities institute

Studio portrait of Dr. Courtney Thompson — Courtney Thompson (Photo by Russ Houston)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi ��ӽ紫ý University faculty member specializing in the history of medicine will present her perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic next week in a virtual format open for public interaction.

A scholar of the history of 19th-century American medicine, medical humanities, and the history of the mind and body, Courtney Thompson, an assistant professor in ��ӽ紫ý’s Department of History, will present “Understanding ‘the Pandemic’” on Wednesday [April 15] at 2 p.m. on the university’s Institute for the Humanities .

In a live interview format, Thompson will discuss how historians of medicine think about disease and epidemics/pandemics, and “what lessons we can draw from the past about the current crisis.” Julia Osman, director of the university’s Institute for the Humanities and professor of history, will moderate the question-and-answer driven session.

Osman said, “As a historian of medicine, Dr. Thompson can help us understand how this current situation fits into the larger history of disease and what we can make of it.”

She added that Thompson’s expertise in how to cast and understand medicine will “help us find ways to situate the current times in our own minds as well as in larger human history.”

Noting her discussion might draw comparisons with other well-known historical epidemics, including the Black Death, the Influenza of 1918/1919 and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Thompson said, “The big takeaway for us right now is that while aspects of this pandemic are unusual or unprecedented, historically speaking, this is just one episode in a longer history of society confronting and managing death and disease.

A faculty member at ��ӽ紫ý since 2016, Thompson earned her Ph.D. in the history of science and medicine from Yale University in 2015.

She is a member of the American Association for the History of Medicine; Cherion: The International Society for the History of Behavioral and Social Sciences; and the History of Science Society, among others.

“Dr. Thompson is no stranger to the institute,” Osman said. “She recently led a fantastic workshop for secondary education teachers on women’s history, and how to include women of many different backgrounds, in a way that enriches the history we teach and also helps us show greater empathy to our students.”

Osman said although the Institute for the Humanities is moving online, they are remaining active through social media formats.

“People turn to the humanities in times like these, and I am trying to focus on the more entertaining or whimsical elements as well as the ‘high art’ often associated with the humanities,” she said, pointing to the institute’s mascot, Huge Manatee, on social media.

“He is tweeting interesting opportunities in the humanities that are mostly free, such as attending an opera at the Met, and encouraging input and interaction from folks on Facebook. Recently, he has asked for help in choosing books or movies, and asked people to help him finish the little poems he begins,” Osman said. Explore Hugh Manatee’s recent adventures by visiting: or .

As part of ��ӽ紫ý’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Humanities promotes research, scholarship and creative performances in the humanistic disciplines and raises their visibility, both within Mississippi ��ӽ紫ý University and the wider community. The Institute is active on social media on Instagram @msststehumanities, Twitter @Humanities_��ӽ紫ý and Facebook @msu.humanities.institute.

��ӽ紫ý’s College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,200 students, 325 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs, 14 masters programs, and 27 undergraduate academic majors offered in 14 departments. It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. For more about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Institute for the Humanities visit or .

��ӽ紫ý is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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