The first book in our reading list for the States, Bodies and Epidemics class is Albert Camus’ famous (1947) novel “The Plague<\/a>,” originally written in French and titled “La Peste”. This novel is a classic of European literature and represents a major literary work in the existentialist tradition, which considers the human experience of life to be fundamentally absurd<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel tells the story of an outbreak of bubonic plague in Oran, Algeria through the eyes of a physican named Dr. Rieux. Camus’ characters are archetypes, meaning they represent uniquely human responses to epidemics. They each present a particular form of moral or physical weakness or strength, yet their fate is always somewhat arbitrary. You can read The Plague<\/em> free of cost through the Internet Archive here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Plague ends with a reminder that the disease never fully goes away, but merely hides or bides its time before sending out the rats to die again “in a happy city.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video of me below responding to student questions and comments about the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n