This class covers a history of our battle to maintain and improve the health of both humans and our food, the power of viruses, bacteria, and insects to help and harm us, and the innovative and often destructive ways we have interacted with them in the past. Topics will include the history of disease and the treatment of infection, vectors for disease transmission, insect anatomy, pollination, agricultural pest management, parasites, and how they impact people today. This course serves as an introduction to the topics of Entomology, the study of insects, and Epidemiology, the study of infectious diseases. This is a lab based course: be prepared to work with both live and dead insects and bacteria!