HIST 3710

This course will examine intoxicants in a global historical context from the use of alcohol in early agricultural societies to the contemporary opiate crisis. It will explore the pleasures and harms of various intoxicants, including opiates, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, marijuana and amphetamines, and will pay attention to the various methods used to control and regulate drug and alcohol use including education, criminalization, import bans and harm reduction. It will examine the role of intoxicants in a wide range of societies, paying close attention to gender, race, class and colonialism. [Department(s): Department of History]