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Fighting The Germans. Fighting The Germs: Cleveland's Response To The 1918-1919 Spanish Flu Epidemic, Haakon Bjoershol

ETD Archive

Epidemics and disease are often overlooked in historical inquiries. This is unfortunate for a number of reasons. First of all, people's beliefs about what causes disease, as well as their ideas about how to respond to disease, are intrinsically linked to culture, philosophical convictions, and identity. Secondly, the ways a society respond to disease and epidemics largely reflect existing ideologies, values, social structures, and various needs and interests. In short, medical history is a tremendously helpful lens for studying political, economic, social, and ideological aspects of cultures and societies.This thesis looks at Cleveland's response to the 1918-19 Spanish Influenza epidemic. …