Although many headlines today deal with the threat of nuclear weapons, biological and chemical threats pose an equally grave danger in our contemporary world. Less expensive and more easily produced than nuclear arms, biological and chemical weapons are more likely to be possessed by non-superpowers, although superpowers as well as other nations still engage in research in this area despite the 1972 Chemical and Biological Weapons Treaty.

The primary biological and chemical agents will be discussed in the course, with emphasis on the 1995 sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway and the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, as well as the use of chemical gasses in the Middle East. However, biological and chemical warfare has a long history, going back the Fourteenth Century. Other current threats include the possible reappearance of smallpox, thought to be exterminated, as well as emerging infections diseases such as the Ebola virus and other hemorrhagic fevers. In terms of defenses the USA's project BioShield will be discussed, as will basic health measures, community training and preparedness and the issue of the smallpox and anthrax vaccines, etc., all aimed at creating a safer world in a dangerous time. No text is required for this course, although Germs by Judith Miller et al. highly recommended, and Department of Homeland Security and DC Emergency Management Agency materials will be distributed free of charge.