Pestilence, Prayer and Prevention
Conceptualising epidemics before modern medicine
Medicine today operates under the germ theory of disease, which simply means that we understand diseases to be caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, to name a few.
The invisible enemy and the language of illness
Is it helpful to discuss ‘redeployment’ rather than ‘placement’ into different health roles, or might military imagery be anxiety-inducing for the people being unwittingly conscripted into a health service army? Do declarations of ‘war’ against the virus help to instil a sense of gravity, urgency, and a keep-calm-and-carry-on attitude amongst the public, or do they simply lead to war-time levels of panic-buying and loo-roll hoarding?
Creative Writing vs Animal Crossing: Dealing with Stress During Lockdown
Creative Writing miniseries:
This is the first of three posts this week focusing on Creative Writing. Sally Gales, author of this post, held a class series on Creative Writing and has written a post on how it has helped her cope with stress during lockdown. The following two posts are student submissions based on her class series.
Parliament and Plagues
The eighteenth century was filled with numerous health (plague) scares, and British politicians looked to try to control the impacts of the disease in some similar (and some not so similar!) ways to our present situation.
The Lost Executioner: Medical practitioners in an early modern pandemic
In the winter of 1494-1495, a new pandemic began sweeping across Europe. By 1497, it had crossed the sea to Scotland, the following year it arrived in India. In a world where travel was much slower than today, this was a frighteningly fast spread.
Death indicators in Covid-19
A break down some of the common indicators that have been used to describe the deadliness of COVID-19 in the UK. Examining these indicators is a real-life opportunity to utilise some of the skills of critical thinking including slowing down, repeating, stepping back and asking ‘why?’
The ACE link between COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease
Scotland is a world-leader. It leads in renewable energy, gender equality and, in 2019, it was even voted the most beautiful country in the world. Unfortunately, it also leads much of Western Europe in the number of heart attacks and cardiovascular-related deaths.
