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01 / 05
Lesson Plan: Dubrovnik (Public Health)

Blog Post | Health Systems

Lesson Plan: Dubrovnik (Public Health)

In this lesson, students will learn about the great public health achievements of medieval Dubrovnik, which developed early pandemic-response policies and facilitated great advancements in freedom for its inhabitants.

Sean Kinnard —

You can find a PDF of this lesson plan here.

Lesson Overview

Featured article: Centers of Progress, Pt. 37: Dubrovnik (Public Health) by Chelsea Follett

Dubrovnik is a beautiful walled city on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. But did you know that it was also once home to one of the freest and most cosmopolitan societies in Europe and one of the first societies to implement comprehensive public health measures to contain disease?

Chelsea Follet writes, “Not only was the small city-state of the Republic of Ragusa at the forefront of freedom for its time, being one of the earliest countries to ban slavery, but the glittering merchant city on the sea was also the site of an early milestone in the history of public health: quarantine waiting periods, which were first implemented in 1377.”

Warm-up

Where is Dubrovnik? What is it like there? Watch this 5-minute video from Rick Steves to build background about this picturesque city.

When you’re done watching, with partners, in small groups, or as a whole class, respond to the following questions:

  • In the 15th century, what were the mainstays of Dubrovnik’s economy?
  • Steves mentions that the city walls were fortified about 500 years ago. Which world power threatened Dubrovnik during that time?
  • Dubrovnik remained independent until the 1800s. Make an educated guess: Which European power took control over the city at that time?
  • Which conflict affected Dubrovnik during the 1990s, resulting in significant damage to many buildings?

Questions for reading, writing, and discussion

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

  • The Describe the political structure of the Republic of Ragusa during its period of independence from 1358 to 1808. Why was this type of governance unique for that period?
  • What sociopolitical practice does Follett cite as important to maintaining the pool of eligible aristocrats charged with governing the city-state?
  • The constitution of the Republic of Ragusa stipulated that the top government official had a term limit of just one month. What do you think were the likely social and political effects of that limit?
  • The article discusses several manifestations of Dubrovnik’s economic ethos of capitalism and free trade. Describe three specific examples of these economic ideas from the article.
  • The article also cites several ways that Dubrovnik promoted freedom and human rights. Explain three specific examples of these humanistic ideals mentioned in the article.
  • What were some of the ways that Dubrovnik promoted public health prior to and during the Black Death? Name at least three.
  • Dubrovnik is famous as the originator of a systematic quarantine policy for those possibly carrying infectious diseases. What is the etymology of the word “quarantine”? How is the meaning of that word specifically related to victims of the bubonic plague?

Extension Activity/Homework

Make a case study of your community.

Follett holds up Dubrovnik as a model. She uses detailed information to argue that peace, prosperity, and tolerance come about when there is respect for individual rights, the promotion of economic freedom, and limited government.

Create a Google Presentation or PowerPoint about your own community. Make a case for the dominant ethos of your hometown and explain why it has helped to grow your community. For this case study, conduct research and present information about:

  • History: founding, important figures, growth over the years
  • Population: age range, racial and ethnic groups, languages spoken, religions
  • Economy: main sectors, number and types of jobs, big employers
  • Institutions: government structure, schools and colleges, civil society (churches, clubs, nonprofits, etc.)
  • Outlook: What does the future hold for your community?

Create at least 10 slides. Be creative. Find or take photos to supplement your writing. Think deeply about why your hometown has been successful. Does it have a strong tradition of public education? A tight-knit faith community? A strategic location near key economic resources? Make an argument about why it’s been a success.

Write about quarantine and isolation.

Over the centuries, the government of Dubrovnik instituted quarantine policies for all those entering the city from infected areas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of people around the world also went through a prolonged period during which they were isolated from friends and family. You were likely unable to see your loved ones for many months.

How did this period of isolation affect you? How did you change and/or grow as a person? What did you like about that time? What did you dislike?

In a short reflective piece—either a paragraph, poem, song, drawing, or another creative medium of your choice—describe your personal reaction to this period of prolonged isolation.

Wall Street Journal | Housing

California Ditches Environmental Law to Tackle Housing Crisis

“California lawmakers on Monday night rolled back one of the most stringent environmental laws in the country, after Gov. Gavin Newsom muscled through the effort in a dramatic move to combat the state’s affordability crisis.

The Democratic governor—widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender—made passage of two bills addressing an acute housing shortage a condition of his signing the 2025-2026 budget. A cornerstone of the legislation reins in the California Environmental Quality Act, which for more than a half-century has been used by opponents to block almost any kind of development project…

The California Environmental Quality Act was signed into law in 1970 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, at a time when Republicans were at the forefront of the nation’s burgeoning green movement. President Richard Nixon also signed groundbreaking protections, including the Endangered Species Act.

CEQA, as it is known, requires state and local agencies to review environmental impacts of planned projects and to take action to avoid or lower any negative effects. Opponents of projects have used the law to delay them by years.”

From Wall Street Journal.

Axios | Infrastructure

NC Bill to Eliminate Parking Minimums Passes House

“The North Carolina House passed a bill unanimously Wednesday [6/26/25] that would block local governments from forcing developers to build parking.

Why it matters: An issue that has been controversial in Charlotte received bipartisan support in Raleigh.

The big picture: With a starting price tag of about $5,000 per space, parking mandates add to the rising costs of new construction. Those expenses are then passed on to residents and businesses as higher rent.”

From Axios.

New York Times | Energy Production

World Bank Ends Its Ban on Funding Nuclear Power Projects

“The world’s largest and most influential development bank said on Wednesday it would lift its longstanding ban on funding nuclear power projects.

The decision by the board of the World Bank could have profound implications for the ability of developing countries to industrialize without burning planet-warming fuels such as coal and oil.

The ban has been formally in place since 2013, but the last time the bank funded a nuclear power project was 1959 in Italy. In the decades since, a few of the bank’s major funders, particularly Germany, have opposed its involvement in nuclear energy, on the grounds that the risk of catastrophic accidents in poor countries with less expertise in nuclear technology was unacceptably high.

The bank’s policy shift, described in an email to employees late on Wednesday, comes as nuclear power is experiencing a global surge in support.

Casting nuclear power as an essential replacement for fossil fuels, more than 20 countries — including the United States, Canada, France and Ghana — signed a pledge to triple nuclear power by 2050 at the United Nations’ flagship climate conference two years ago.”

From New York Times.

The Verge | Food Production

Lab-Grown Salmon Gets FDA Approval

“The FDA has issued its first ever approval on a safety consultation for lab-grown fish. That makes Wildtype only the fourth company to get approval from the regulator to sell cell-cultivated animal products..

Wildtype salmon is now on the menu at Haitian restaurant Kann in Portland, Oregon, and the company has opened a waitlist for the next five restaurants to stock the fish. It joins Upside Foods and Good Meat, two companies with permission to sell cultivated chicken in the US, while Mission Barns has been cleared by the FDA but is awaiting USDA approval for its cultivated pork fat.”

From The Verge.