This course is an exploration of the medical tradition that developed in the lands of Islam during the medieval period (c. 650-1500). This tradition formed the roots from which modern Western medicine arose. This course will take you from early Islamic Arabia to the Ottoman Empire, with a focus on the Islamic Golden Age and its bustling heart, the cosmopolitan metropolis of Baghdad, where hospitals flourished and offered free holistic treatments to their patients. We will explore many questions, including: how were diseases dealt with in the medieval Islamic world? What types of cures were used, and why? How were disabilities understood? What were some of the methods used to deal with psychological disorders, or depression? We will read short primary extracts from sources in translation covering a variety of medical practices in different geographical contexts and time periods. We will examine how the early medical knowledge of the ancient Greeks was translated, adapted, and transformed in the Islamic world during this period, before being introduced to Europe and leading to the Renaissance. This course is taught by a Visiting Arnold Professor, and is open to students, staff, and faculty. It will be held as a brown bag lunch series. Graded Credit/No Credit.