The Party's Over- But the Band Plays On Burning the Fabric that Binds Us

An integrated interdisciplinary, thematic study of viral, bacterial, and parasitic epidemics that have affected mankind from 1340 to the present. Recently, the world has turned its attention to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. 17 million Africans have died since the AIDS epeidemic began in the late 1970's and AIDS has orphaned an additional 12 million children. this plague threatens to wipe out the African population. Similarly, historians have estimated in the 14th century that the Bubonic plague wiped out about 32% of the European population. This interdisciplinary integrated unit is designed to guide students to an understanding of both historic epidemics, like the Bubonic Plague, and contemporary plagues, such as AIDS, so they can make more informed decisions now and in the future.