The virtual seminar series on pandemics through the ages continues on Thursday, June 11, (13:30 – 15:00 EDT) with Lee Mordechai (Hebrew University) and Merle Eisenberg (National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center) presenting “The Justinianic Plague: Apocalypse or Overblown?”. The impact of the Justinianic Plague (c. 541-750) has recently become the focus of a heated academia and media debate, which will likely intensify in the context of COVID-19. For the last several decades some scholars have made the plague into a demographic catastrophe, which caused the deaths of tens of millions – up to half the population of the Mediterranean. These interpretations also identify plague as a major factor in broader historical changes in late antiquity including the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam, which are big narratives the media magnifies through catastrophic thinking. Using innovative interdisciplinary sources, however, recent scholarship argues that plague was largely inconsequential to historical change over the long-term. The talk will expand upon this new position, which has challenged the standard narrative through a series of articles published over the last year. It discusses the most glaring problems with the traditional view of the Justinianic Plague, surveys the diverse independent sources that suggest plague did not have a dramatic effect at a societal level, and outlines a few future paths for research.
In partnership with the Climate Change and History Research Initiative and with the support of the Humanities Council, the Program in Medieval Studies launches a new virtual seminar series that examines the historical context and the social, cultural, and environmental impact of pandemics through the ages. The virtual series entitled "Pandemics in the Past: from Prehistory to (almost) the Present" features guest scholars from across U.S and Europe and is coordinated by John Haldon, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History, Emeritus, and the Director of the Program in Medieval Studies Helmut Reimitz.
Click the links below to register for each seminar separately and to receive the Zoom meeting link. All seminars are recorded and will be available at a later date on the websites for the Program in Medieval Studies and the Climate Change and History Research Initiative.
