INFLUENZA PANDEMIC 1918 IN INDIA
AIM to analyse the historical record of the 1918 influenza pandemic through a case study of India, then to apply historical knowledge and concepts to the debate about pandemic responses in contemporary global health.
Objectives
• To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the epidemiology, demography, policy responses, socio-economic effects and popular understandings of the 1918 influenza pandemic in India.
• To assess the extent to which rule by the British Empire determined India’s experience of the pandemic.
• To demonstrate ability to critically evaluate and integrate evidence from a range of primary and secondary historical sources.
• To evaluate critically the lessons of the 1918 influenza pandemic for current efforts in global health to prepare for and manage pandemics.
Task instructions PART A Read the assigned sources, then answer the following questions. All articles are also listed in full below.
A.1. Outline the main epidemiological, socio-economic and political features of the 1918 influenza pandemic in India. (30%)
A.2. To what extent was India’s experience of the 1918 influenza pandemic shaped by British colonial rule? You should refer both to its impact and the responses to it. (40%)
PART B
Does the history of the 1918 influenza pandemic provide any lessons to inform today’s debates about public health responses to pandemics? Explain your answer. (30%)
Required Readings (MUST)
Arnold, David. 2019. “Death and the Modern Empire: The 1918–19 Influenza Epidemic In India”. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 29: 181-200.
Forster, WHC., “The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in the Punjab”, in Report on the Sanitary Administration of the Punjab and Proceedings of the Sanitary Board for the Year 1918 and the Report on Sanitary Works for 1918.
Appendix D
Hardiman, D. 2012. “The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the Adivasis of Western India”. Social History Of Medicine. 25, no. 3: 644-664.
Klein, Ira. 1973. “Death in India, 1871-1921”. The Journal of Asian Studies. 32, no. 4: 639-659.
Ramanna, Mridula. 2003. “Coping with the Influenza Pandemic: The Bombay Experience”. In Phillips, Howard, and David Killingray. The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919: New Perspectives. Abingdon, Oxfordshire:
Routledge, 86-98.
Reyes O, EC Lee, P Sah, C Viboud, S Chandra, and S Bansal. 2018, Spatiotemporal Patterns and Diffusion of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in British India”. American Journal of Epidemiology. 187, no. 12: 2550-2560.
You are free to refer to any other material you think relevant in addition to the above readings.
Your answers to each question should take the form of a short essay, in which you should present an argument supported by empirical detail.
If you decide to use an in-text author date citation system such as the Harvard system (common in the social sciences) or a footnote system such as Chicago (common in history and the humanities) – the word limit is 3300.
The final word count should include the main text, citations, captions, titles, subtitles and footnotes (which includes footnote references)
• Note the word limit is specific to the citation method chosen and the larger word limit only applies if using author-date or footnote style references.
• Tables, figures, bibliographies/reference lists (except footnote references) and appendices should not be included in the count, but should be used appropriately and not as a means of keeping within the word limit.
• you may include up to a maximum of 10 figures, graphs and tables combined. It should be possible to fully understand and mark an assignment without reference to the appendices.
• Keeping within the word limit set for an assignment is a requirement, not a suggestion. Presentation Requirements
• Fully and accurately cite all references and resources used to complete your assignment, including page references to your textbook, the assigned articles and to any additional readings, when required. • You are not required to rely on materials other than the course materials, but are encouraged to use other materials if you are able.
In MS Word form
Type and double space assignment using 12-point font
The form of an essay
Include page numbers on each page of the document
4 Very good Very good engagement with the topic, very good depth of understanding and insight, very good argument and analysis. This work may be ‘borderline distinction standard’. ➢ Note that very good work may have some inaccuracies or omissions but not enough to question the understanding of the subject matter.
3 Good Good (but not necessarily comprehensive) engagement with the topic, clear understanding & insight, reasonable argument and analysis.
