HIS409H1

Spas and Water Cures

This fourth-year seminar immerses students into the rich world of mineral water cures. It explores the relationship between the medical sciences and society, and the connections between prescriptive and normalizing medical rituals and sites of pilgrimage, capitalism, and sociability. The seminar will also focus on shifting medical meanings, on gender dynamics at these sites, and on uses and practices surrounding hot water springs, as well as varied experiences of spa towns as sites of leisure and tourism. The course is transnational and features case studies in Mexico, Madagascar, Britain, Germany, Tunisia, Japan, France, Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Canada.