Bloomsbury Academic Health, Healing and Illness in African History

This book uses the prism of health, illness and healing to examine the complex social, cultural and political history of Africa. Coverage stretches from pre-colonial Africa through to the present day, exploring the history of diseases including influenza, syphilis, sleeping sickness, bubonic plague, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, their characteristics, paths of transmission and treatment. In Part One, the book begins with a comprehensive survey of the history of health and medicine from the pre-colonial era to the present day. Throughout, the emphasis is on how disease and health were understood and managed, and how these reveal the history of a place and a people. Rather than providing a medical survey, the book looks at indigenous perceptions of illness as a way to examine African society in historical perspective. In Part Two, a range of case studies are introduced, drawing on specific incidences of disease from across the African continent. Examples covered include malaria, tuberculosis, syphilis, HIV/AIDS and mental illness. The result is the first comprehensive survey of this key topic in African history and the ideal introduction for students.