Africa has long been associated with disease and illness, at the expense of widespread recognition of the continent’s history with healing and medicine. Reports of malaria, yellow fever, ebola, and HIV from travelers, colonial personnel, and contemporary media have long eclipsed an understanding of the continent’s contributions to health and science from its herbal pharmacopeia through 21st century laboratory research. In this episode, we examine the associations with Africa and disease while also recognizing the innovations that are owed to the continent.
Guest Bios
Karen Flint
Karen Flint is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and the author of Healing Traditions: African Medicine, Cultural Exchange, and Competition in South Africa, 1820-1948.
Breeanna Elliott
Breeanna Elliott is a doctoral student in the History of Science and Medicine Program in the Department of History at Yale University.
Free Resources and Featured Books
Health, Healing and Illness in African History by Rebekah Lee offers readers a rich history of the way African people understood and managed illness and disease from the 1800s through the 21st century. The book centers the experiences of healthcare providers, patients, and families across Africa.
Healing Traditions: African Medicine, Cultural Exchange, and Competition in South Africa, 1820-1948 by Karen Flint focuses on the relationship between different healing and medical practices and communities in South Africa, providing a history of the ways African approaches to healing were stigmatized in colonial South Africa.
East African Doctors: A History of the Modern Profession by John Iliffe traces the history of medical training and practice among physicians in East Africa from the 1870s through this medical community’s contributions to the study of AIDS, focusing on the professionalization of the field.
Episode Acknowledgements
Thanks to Endy Ezeluomba and Hannah Cohen for sharing their insights and expertise.
Thanks to Nico Rivers for audio editing, mixing and mastering this episode.
Special thanks to the Boston University Africa Studies Center and the Teaching Africa Outreach Program for collaborating and providing support for this podcast.
Image Credits
“Young African Doctor” by JacobOcenFay, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo of Karen Flint provided by the UNC Charlotte website.
Featured Music
“3rd Chair” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Lathe, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.
“Cab Ride” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Pacha Faro, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.
“Curio” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Vacant Distillery, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.
“Periodicals” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Albany, NY, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.
“Rate Sheet” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Union Hall, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.
“Well Water” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album The Bulwark, under CC BY-NC 4.0. This track has been excerpted and overlaid with narrative.