By: Kelly Picek
A topic I find interesting is the history of medicine. Because of this, the focus of my web project will be a detailed account of a few aspects of the evolution of Medicine. I chose this title because I will be inventing a scholar for the time periods from ancient and early modern. I will try to grasp the roots of medicine through this approach while using an example of what a first-person view might be. This topic interested me because I have always wanted to know how the human body works, becomes ill, and heals itself. My mother is a nurse and I was in and out of doctors' offices quite a bit as a child. I've always wondered how the methods we use today were discovered or what beliefs predated them. I am already familiar with early modern medical history, but I am curious about the seemingly crazy methods used before that era. I am hoping to learn about Hellenistic, European Medieval, and less known Early Modern medical practices. I do not really know of any specific questions I want answered through this project, because I do not think I know enough about the practices of these cultures to really question them. I have heard bits and pieces over the years about uses of medicine in these times, but I do not think I've had much exposure to this kind of in-depth information before. I think this project will be interesting to others because medicine is something that affects everyone in some way or the other. My fiancé took this class and I am curious about the experiments done on dogs and prisoners that he speaks of.
I hope to make my project interesting by focusing on more specific topics, using as much artwork/ medical drawings as I can find, and the use of a narrative writing style. I will try my best to veer away from the typical analytical writing like the style I have been using for my Interpretations. I feel like they have been rather boring and at times I just run out of interesting things to say. In my episodes I will be representing Hellenistic, European Medieval, and 15th/16th Century Early Modern Medicine. In every episode I will present a character, either a medical figure or an ill patient. I will then explore their treatments based on what time period the characters are in and the approaches on medicine of the time. I will try to keep the format relatively relaxed but still interesting. Hopefully my characters will be likeable and relatable. In the first episode, Hellenistic, I will attempt to explore Hippocratic medicine through a demonstration of a few common ailments of citizens from the period, and their treatments. I will take what I can from Hippocrates's On Ancient Medicine and interpret his ideas into a scenario. In the second episode, I hope to find a lot of juicy and interesting facts about Medieval medical practices. I remember little things like the uses of leeches, and I think I even remember something about the use of magic. These are all assumptions I would like to clear up or cast out. In my third and final episode I will present 15th/16th Century Early Modern approaches to medicine. I hope to learn how someone like Vesalius viewed medicine and the treatments of the ill. Hopefully this last episode will be the culmination of the previous eras. I hope to see patterns or influences in the practices these people used.
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