Jacob Steere-Williams is a historian of epidemic disease, particularly in nineteenth and early-twentieth century Britain and the former British colonies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and began teaching at the College in 2011. Dr. Steere-Williams is a faculty affiliate with a number of campus programs, including the British Studies minor, the Medical Humanities minor, the Geography minor, the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program (CLAW), and the Urban Studies Program. He also works closely with the Waring Historical Library on the campus MUSC, where he currently serves as the Vice-President of the Waring Historical Society. Professor Steere-Williams is the author of the 2020 book The Filth Disease: Typhoid Fever and the Practices of Epidemiology in Victorian England, published by the University of Rochester Press in the Studies in Medical History series.
Click here for the application to have Jacob Steere-Williams speak in your community.
The Medical University of South Carolina: An Interactive History Presented by Jacob Steere-Williams. This lecture tells the story of the largest medical school in the south, M.U.S.C., whose 19th century origins played a significant role in the history of Charleston, the U.S. South, and American medical education. The rich history of the medical school touches on … Read more
South Carolina’s Medical Past Presented by Jacob Steere-Williams. From its earliest inception as a European settlement, South Carolina has been a hotbed of both infectious disease and for innovative approaches to curbing disease and establishing public health. This lecture focuses on the fascinating history of medicine in South Carolina from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Click … Read more
Public Health and Pandemics in the Atlantic World Presented by Jacob Steere-Williams. This presentation places in historical context the long history of how pandemics and epidemics of infectious disease have shaped the American history and the history of the Atlantic World. We will highlight the role of transatlantic slavery, the establishment of the plantation economy, … Read more
COVID-19 in Historical Perspective Presented by Jacob Steere-Williams. The COVID-19 pandemic has left us with a lot of questions about the role, the place, and repeated occurrence of new diseases. This lecture considers COVID-19 in light of several past pandemics, starting with the global spread of disease in the 19th century, turning to the decline of … Read more
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