Health, Healing and Illness in African History (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781474254380)

In this book, Rebekah Lee offers a critical introduction to the diverse history of health, healing and illness in sub-Saharan Africa from the 1800s to the present day. Its focus is not simply on disease but rather on how illness and health were understood and managed: by healthcare providers, African patients, their families and communities.

Through a sustained interdisciplinary approach, Lee brings to the foreground a cast of actors, institutions and ideas that both profoundly and intimately shaped African health experiences and outcomes. This book guides the reader through a wide range of historical source material, and highlights the theoretical and methodological innovations which have enriched this scholarship.

Part One delivers a concise historical overview of African health and illness from the long 'pre-colonial' past through the colonial period and into the present day, providing an understanding of broad patterns - of major disease challenges, experiences of illness, and local and global health interventions - and their persistence or transformation across time. Part Two adopts a 'case study' approach, focusing on specific health challenges in Africa - HIV/AIDS, mental illness, tropical disease and occupational disease - and their unfolding across time and space.

Health, Healing and Illness in African History is the first wide-ranging survey of this key topic in African history and the history of health and medicine, and the ideal introduction for students.

Author: Rebekah Lee
ISBN-10: 1474254381
ISBN-13: 9781474254380
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Language: English
Published: 02/25/2021
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.24lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.69d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2022