Jacob Steere-Williams, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the History of Medicine at the College of Charleston. He is also the Associate Editor of the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. His teaching and research focus on historical and contemporary debates over disease, public health, and race. He is the author of the 2020 book The Filth Disease: Typhoid Fever and the Practices of Epidemiology in Victorian England, and the 2023 volume, Port Cities of the Atlantic World: Sea-Facing Histories of the US South.

Dr. Steere-Williams will be presenting his talk, "Pandemic Futures: Preparing for Health Crises in the Holy City"

Epidemic preparedness has taken on new social capital since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, communities—and nations—have long anticipated pandemic crises into a public health philosophy of the ‘next.’ It has always been an unsteady future. In this talk, Dr. Steere-Williams explores the vibrant, and sometimes unsettling history of how historical memory plays into public health preparedness, and how local repositories of pandemic history can contribute to ongoing public conversations and policy discussions. Although national in scope, he draws on the rich local history of Charleston for many of his examples.