[課程目標]：隨著人類文明的進展，疾病亦隨之變化。農業及畜牧業的發展讓人類定居及人口增加，成為微生物 (細菌、病毒、真菌、寄生蟲) 繁殖的溫床，繼而引發致命的瘟疫。再隨著貿易、旅行與殖民，更助長傳染病的全球散播。本課程的目標是介紹疾病的特性及其致病機制:首先以造成人類歷史劇烈衝擊的傳染病為例，討論發生的時代、傷亡的情形、防疫的措施、社會的影響等，藉以瞭解人類與微生物自古以來的長期戰鬥故事。二十世紀後，疫苗及抗生素的發明逐漸使傳染病得以控制，人類的壽命因而增長一倍。但由於活動範圍的擴展及生態環境的變化等因素，「新興」傳染病，如愛滋病、禽流感、SARS、伊波拉出血熱、茲卡病毒感染症及新冠肺炎等卻不斷爆發。除此之外，高齡伴隨著基因突變的累積，使癌症大幅增加。長壽也使阿茲海默症成為二十一世紀的重大疾病。而近幾十年以來，食物攝取不平衡及機械替代勞力等因素造成肥胖，引發高血壓、高血糖及血脂異常的代謝症候群。本課程的另一目標則是引導同學將通識融入專業，以跨領域的角度，瞭解疾病隨著人類的生活方式與文明發展而相互影響。
[課程內涵]：本課程以人類疾病為內涵，首先介紹人類歷史上細菌、病毒及原生生物導致的重大傳染病。這些疾病除了造成個人的病痛及死亡之外，自古以來，影響民族的盛衰、社會的枯榮與文明的起落。二十世紀以降，公共衛生觀念的進步、抗生素的發現及疫苗的使用逐漸控制了猖狂數千年的傳染病，但由於生態環境的變遷及物種疆界的模糊，世界各地又出現新興的傳染病，如愛滋病、SARS、禽流感，伊波拉出血熱、茲卡病毒感染症及新冠肺炎等，造成巨大的傷亡及全球的恐慌，充分顯示人類與微生物的共同演化及持久不斷的競爭。課程的後半部分將介紹現代威脅人類健康最甚的癌症、心血管疾病。阿茲海默症及精神疾病。癌症是由自身的細胞突變而成，本質上與正常細胞的差別不如微生物與人體間的差異那麼大，所以在治療過程的副作用較大，使人們談癌色變。至於血壓高、血糖高、血脂異常及肥胖則是現代人飲食不當、勞動不足產成的代謝症候群，加之複雜社會助長的精神疾病、高齡伴隨的老年失智，在在顯示疾病的種類因文明發展而改變。本課程希望帶領同學回顧歷史，探究文明與疾病的關聯，讓同學明瞭疾病與人如影隨形，實為生活與生命的一部份。而人類面臨疾病及死亡時的掙扎，將以《瘟疫》及《疾病的隱喻》兩本文學著作，剖析內心的挫折、偏見及恐懼。
[Course Objectives]: As human civilization progresses, diseases also change. The development of agriculture and animal husbandry has led to human settlement and increased population, which has become a breeding ground for microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites) to reproduce, which in turn triggers deadly plagues. Trade, travel, and colonization further contributed to the global spread of infectious diseases. The goal of this course is to introduce the characteristics of diseases and their pathogenic mechanisms: first, take infectious diseases that have caused a severe impact on human history as examples, and discuss the era of occurrence, casualties, epidemic prevention measures, social impact, etc., so as to understand the relationship between human beings and The story of microorganisms' long battle since ancient times. After the 20th century, the invention of vaccines and antibiotics gradually brought infectious diseases under control, and human life span doubled. However, due to factors such as the expansion of the scope of activities and changes in the ecological environment, "emerging" infectious diseases, such as AIDS, avian influenza, SARS, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Zika virus infection, and COVID-19, continue to break out. In addition, advanced age is accompanied by the accumulation of genetic mutations, which leads to a significant increase in cancer. Longevity also makes Alzheimer's disease a major disease of the twenty-first century. In recent decades, factors such as unbalanced food intake and mechanical replacement of labor have caused obesity, causing metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. Another goal of this course is to guide students to integrate general knowledge into their majors, and to understand from a cross-field perspective how diseases interact with human lifestyles and the development of civilization.
[Course Content]: This course takes human diseases as its connotation. It first introduces the major infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and protists in human history. In addition to causing personal pain and death, these diseases have also affected the rise and fall of nations, the prosperity of society, and the ups and downs of civilizations since ancient times. Since the 20th century, advances in public health concepts, the discovery of antibiotics, and the use of vaccines have gradually controlled infectious diseases that have been rampant for thousands of years. However, due to changes in the ecological environment and the blurring of species boundaries, emerging infectious diseases have appeared in various parts of the world. Diseases such as AIDS, SARS, avian flu, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Zika virus infection, and COVID-19 have caused huge casualties and global panic, fully demonstrating the co-evolution and persistent competition between humans and microorganisms. The second half of the course will introduce cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which are the most serious threats to human health in modern times. Alzheimer's disease and mental illness. Cancer is caused by the mutation of its own cells. In essence, the difference from normal cells is not as great as the difference between microorganisms and the human body. Therefore, the side effects during the treatment process are relatively large, which makes people talk about cancer. As for high blood pressure, high blood sugar, dyslipidemia and obesity, they are metabolic syndromes caused by improper diet and insufficient labor in modern people. In addition, mental diseases promoted by complex society and senile dementia associated with advanced age are showing that the types of diseases have changed with the development of civilization. And change. This course hopes to lead students to review history and explore the relationship between civilization and disease, so that students can understand that disease follows people closely and is actually a part of life. As for human beings' struggle when facing illness and death, two literary works, "Plague" and "Metaphor of Disease", will be used to analyze inner frustrations, prejudices and fears.
1.《槍砲、病菌與鋼鐵》(Guns, Germs, and Steel), Jared Diamond 著，1997。王道還、廖月娟譯，時報文化，1998。
2.《人類與瘟疫的故事》張浚、趙少欽著，新視野圖書出版公司，2006。
3.《病毒的故事》徐明達著，天下雜誌股份有限公司，2003。
4.《細菌的世界》徐明達著，二魚文化事業有限公司，2012。
5.《最衰者生存》(Survival of the Sickest), Sharon Moalem 著，2007。陳芝儀譯，天下遠見出版股份有限公司，2007。
6. 《疾病解密》，科學人雜誌特刊，2013。
7.《瘟疫》(The Plague, 1947), Albert Camus著，1947。周行之譯，新潮文庫，1969。
8.《疾病的隱喻》(Illness as Metaphor), Susan Sontag著，1977。程巍譯，麥田出版，2012。
1. Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond, 1997. Translated by Wang Daohuan and Liao Yuejuan, Times Culture, 1998.
2. "The Story of Humanity and Plague" by Zhang Jun and Zhao Shaoqin, New Vision Books Publishing Company, 2006.
3. "The Story of the Virus" by Xu Mingda, Tianxia Magazine Co., Ltd., 2003.
4. "The World of Bacteria" by Xu Mingda, Eryu Culture Co., Ltd., 2012.
5. Survival of the Sickest, by Sharon Moalem, 2007. Translated by Chen Zhiyi, Tianxia Vision Publishing Co., Ltd., 2007.
6. "Disease Decrypted", Special Issue of Scientist Magazine, 2013.
7. The Plague (1947), by Albert Camus, 1947. Translated by Zhou Xingzhi, Xinchao Library, 1969.
8. "Illness as Metaphor", by Susan Sontag, 1977. Translated by Cheng Wei, Maitian Publishing House, 2012.
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 課堂出席、參與及互動課堂出席、參與及互動 Class attendance, participation and interaction |
50 | 準時出席、課堂參與、口頭及書面作答 |
| 小組報告小組報告 group report |
50 | 口頭小組報告、參與及回饋其他同學的報告 |
