Week 5 Discussion: Health Problems of the Urban Industrial World

Week 5 Discussion: Health Problems of the Urban Industrial World

Prompt: The changes that occurred in western Europe and the United States as a result of industrialization and urbanization in the nineteenth century affected everyone in these societies. New technology and new toxins abounded. Peoples diets changed. Many people were exposed to the stresses of modern life. Not everyone was affected in the same way, however, or to the same extent. Based on your understanding of the materials for this week, whose health do you think was affected more by urbanization and industrialization? Was the working class affected more than the middle class? Were men more likely to be affected or were women? (Keep in mind that more men worked outside the home than did women, and women spent more time at home than did men. Also remember that the household technology and consumer goods shown in the video would have been found primarily in the middle-class home.) Finally, based on what you have learned this week about how urbanization and industrialization affected the health of people in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, what would you say to people who argue that with the passage of time, peoples health improves? Were the people of the late nineteenth century healthier than people who lived in earlier time periods?

Make sure to support your statements with evidence drawn from the assigned materials. Provide specific examples. You should use your post to demonstrate your understanding of the material. The more complex and nuanced your answer is, the better. For example, you might say something like, The working class were affected more severely than the middle classand then go on to provide specific examples of how the working class were more severely affected.