HIST1206 (Drug Trade and Drug War: History, Security, Culture) course reviews and ratings at Northeastern (NEU). Average rating 3.3/5. Compare professors with RateMyProfessor reviews.
Analyzes the role of drugs in world history. From the early use of stimulants such as coca and sugar to the “war on drugs” and narco-terrorism, the course examines drugs as commodities in the world economy. Focuses primarily on opiates, stimulants, and hallucinogens from the nineteenth century to the present, considering how changing social and cultural mores led different drugs to be coded as licit and illicit. Topics include traditional uses, early medical use, trade networks, prohibition, black market, and drug cultures, as well as the role of drugs in the histories of industrialization, imperialism, and cold war geopolitics. Sources include historical scholarship, declassified intelligence reports, documentaries, novels, movies, songs, and art.
Data updated October 2026.