Suggested Research Topics - Public Health in Michigan Cities

The linked forces of urbanization, industrialization, and advancing frontiers of understanding of health and disease make the history of urban public health a rewarding field of study. With the growth of cities came the concommitant problems of providing fresh water, removing sewage, waste removal, dirt, and other vectors of contagion. The situation was rendered more critical due to the speed with which disease could disable a city. Preserving the public health was an ongoing concern which involved increasing responsibilities as medical science advanced its understanding of the etiology of disease and the nature of contagion. Ultimately the medical questions raised in providing a healthful urban environment are embedded in political, economic, and social contexts. The Bentley Library has papers of several local public health officers which can be used to shed light on the health of Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grandville, and Kent County.

Were there differences in public health practice according to the size of the city? Were the problems facing Ann Arbor similar to the problems facing Detroit? Were the solutions based on scientific ideals? or were political compromises made? What was the impact of the bacteriological revolution on local public health practice? What were the limiting forces/factors which prevented ready application of new ideas? Was there a fundamental difference between mid-nineteenth century public health practice and the "New Public Health" of Henry Vaughn?

Examples of Primary Source Collections and Other Resources:

Secondary sources

Published primary sources

Archival and other primary resources
Caveats

As with the topic on the medical education of the masses, this topic could well support more than one researcher. The universe of papers is large but not unmanageable. The principal advantage of this topic is that it is quite flexible: The student could focus on the changes in Detroit PH/time; compare Detroit to Ann Arbor; or contrast local public health with statewide efforts. the very rich secondary literature will suggest further hooks upon which to hang a seminar paper. This will be facile for the capable student.


In an effort to encourage creative thinking about possible research topics for students unfamiliar with archives and their inevitable complexities, archivists and student employees of the Bentley Historical Library have authored "suggested research topics ." The purpose of these is not to define a topic but rather to stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Bentley Library are particularly strong.